Socio-Economic status of fishers of reservoirs in India.

Abstract

The present study is a rapid assessment of socio-economic status to estimate income, illiteracy and health of reservoirs’ fishers in seven states of India. Structured data from 415 fishermen were collected. The result indicated that against the Indian average literacy rate of 74.52 per cent, the literacy rate of 63.32 per cent was recorded among the sampled fishers. The school dropouts were more at secondary level of education (57.75 percent). Fisher’s children were vaccinated in most of the states as per the recommendation of Indian Council of Medical Research. The average monthly expenditure of the households was worked out to be Rs. 3148.3 only which is very low to sustain livelihood which often lead to indebtness. Overall, the study indicated there is a greater need to transform fisheries sector by taking into account its achievements and possibilities. Various issues related to fishing activities in India need to be addressed in a time bound manner with mutual understanding and cooperation between public and private sectors.