Sustainable fisheries development: A case study of academia intervention

Kerala, which is situated in the south west coast of the Indian sub-continent with a coastline of five hundred and ninety kilometers, is rich in marine fishery resources. The fisheries sector of Kerala helps the state in earning huge amounts of foreign exchange and goodwill. The fish products from the state are very famous all over the world and are exported to many foreign countries. The state has two hundred and twenty two fishing villages in the marine sector and one hundred and thirteen in the inland sector. The total population of fisher folk residing in the state of Kerala is estimated to be twelve lakhs, which includes eight lakh in the marine sector and four lakhs in the inland sector. Nearly fifty per cent of the fisher folk in Kerala are women. Even though Kerala has extensive sea shore facility and inland water resources, the fishery resources are depleting drastically. A holistic approach of fishery management is necessary to tackle the issue. This paper examines the scope of academia in implementing sustainable fisheries development.

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” - Maimonides