Financing problems of fisheries: a study with reference to the district of North 24 Parganas in West Bengal

Fisheries are the sunrise sector of our economy. Its role in increasing food supply, generating job opportunities, raising nutritional level and earning foreign exchange has been important. Growing urbanization, globalization, and rapidly changing social structures had a major impact on the fisheries structure in the country. Fisheries and aquaculture emerged as the important commercial activity from its traditional role as subsistence supplementary activity.

Fisheries sector in India has witnessed an impressive growth from a subsistence traditional activity to a well developed commercial and diversified enterprise. The fisheries sector has been playing an important role in the Indian economy by its contributions to employment generation, income augmentation, foreign exchange earnings, providing food and nutrition security. Over the last two decades, fisheries issues have emerged from being merely an obscure sectoral concern to an important growth sector with an expanding role in economic development and food security. In recent years, it has emerged as a vibrant sector and is being considered as a strategic sub-sector for promoting agricultural diversification. However, information regarding the development process of this important activity is very sketchy, scattered and not well documented.

Further enhancement of marine fish production requires diversification of fishing activities not only in the off-shore oceanic regime but also in deep sea fishing which is capital intensive and risk prone. There have already been strong protests in India against foreign equity participation in deep sea fishing and the government had to

rescind its Deep Sea Fishing Policy in March 1997. Utilization of marine resources by catch and fishing for unconventional fish species may not be economically viable initially. The conservation of resources and genetic diversity in EEZ would further slow down efforts towards higher production from the marine sector. The story with the inland sector is similar; aquaculture production could be a base but it is beset with varied uncertainties. The aquaculture, particularly intensive and semi-intensive, which has the potential of gaining quantum but it may face a major fish meal trap. Another important intermediary input for aquaculture is seed of culturable fish species. The country is already facing problems with regard to scarcity of breeder stock in the shrimp sector. For diversified aquaculture, various compatible fish species have to be brought under aquaculture operation.

The present study deals with the problems of the aforesaid industry, specially the financing problems faced by the fishermen in the State of West Bengal, with special reference to The District of North 24 Parganas, identified through intensive observations and interview with the help of structured questionnaire method.