Economics of Turtle catch in West Bengal

Abstract

An investigation was carried out during the months of November and December, 1983 to study the economics of turtle catch in the coastal belt of West Bengal. The data relating to income and expenditure of different units were collected from Midnapore district of West Bengal where the turtles caught from Orissa coast were lauded. In the first place, the rising price of turtle over the years drew the interior coastal economy into the distant urban market, but this has helped to strengthen the position of a few economically and socially namely, the operators of trawlers and the mechanized boats and secondly, once drawn into the urban commercial circuit, the rural coastal scenario could not escape the demonstration effect of urban centres, the result of which gets manifested in the change of living standard of the people associated with country boat. Extensive study is necessary to find out the detailed biology, and stock position of the species and if controlled fishing can be allowed so that the species does not face extinction and at the same time help to maintain the existing living standards of the fishermen.