Impact evaluation of marine fisheries interventions among Tribal Fisher Commune of Car Nicobar Island, India

Abstract

Fisheries and tourism are two important sectors that provide livelihood and employment in the tropical Islands. Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands is a biodiversity hotspot in the Bay of Bengal inhabited by settler population along with indigenous tribal communities. The Nicobar tribal community is one among occupying the Nicobar group of Islands in the majority and are quite socialized tribal communities of the Islands. Agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries are the major sectors that contribute to the livelihood and nutritional security of the Nicobar tribes. Traditional fishing activities have been a part of their culture over the years however, tribal youths were reluctant in taking up fishing as a profession considering the changing scenario and alternative employment options. To reinstate fisheries as a profession and to improve their livelihood and employment opportunities, interventions were carried out in Car Nicobar Island. The interventions were mainly aimed towards increasing fish catches, to expand their fishing grounds and to sensitize safe fishing and navigation practices. Fishing inputs such as modern fishing boats, GPS and outboard engines were provided as inputs to tribal fishers based on the outcome of an expert consultation meeting. Structured questionnaires were prepared to analyze the impact of the interventions. The results indicated that the interventions led to a significant improvement (p <0.001) in the expansion of their fishing grounds (3.47 ± 0.2 km), reduced time spent to reach the fishing grounds (2.3 ± 0.25 hour) and increased catch per unit effort (7.93 ± 1.23 kg/boat). This study shows that the targeted interventions coupled with awareness and sensitization programmes could make fishing activities profitable, attractive and can motivate the unemployed youths to opt for fishing as a profession.