Use of Geospatial Technology for Sustainable Development of Small Scale
Fisheries in India: Challenges and Way Forward
Abstract
The total fish production in India is estimated to be 13.42 million
metric tons (Mt) of which nearly 3.71 Mt are contributed by marine
fisheries. The fisheries sector provides direct livelihood support to
approximately 16 million people, of which marine fishers constitute a
dominant subset and almost double the number along the value chain. In
the past, the fisheries community in India had relied on traditional
indicators of fish abundance such as the congregation of birds, colour
of sea water, bubble breaking in the sea water and muddy/oily water on
the sea surface in their traditionally known fishing grounds. The
increased frequency of extreme weather events observed in recent times,
have been related to major losses in marine ecosystem services. Further,
the livelihoods of Small Scale Fisheries (SSF) communities are
endangered not only by their limited understanding of the magnitude of
the risks associated with natural hazards but also by the diminishing
returns of relying on traditional knowledge for accurate prediction of
the fishing stock at their usual locations. Therefore, the Government of
India has launched several programs to use geospatial technologies for
the benefit of marine pelagic fisheries in India for the sustainable
development of the SSF communities. However, the lives of SSF
communities are also challenged by complex, inter-linked socio-economic
factors. In this paper, we focus on the maritime state of Odisha which
is affected by several extreme weather events (cyclones) in the Bay of
Bengal. We describe the socio-economic and technological factors which
determine the degree of assimilation of the Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ)
and Ocean State Forecast (OSF) advisories provided by the Indian
National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) with a focus on
the threads linking natural and anthropocentric factors that produce
significant changes in the Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) and net profit
for pelagic fisheries of Odisha. More importantly, we identify the
research and implementation gaps that must be addressed so that science,
technology, and societal interactions can be used to enhance the
sustainable development of the SSF communities. Keywords: Potential
fishing zone, Catch per unit effort, Ocean state forecast, Geospatial
technology.