Towards Sustainable Management of Fisheries Resource in Wetlands: Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Fishers of Eastern India

Wetlands are among the most vulnerable natural resources of the world which are under immense threat from various quarters including anthropogenic origin. Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) of the fishers of the wetlands can help in designing appropriate specific interventions for sustainable management of fisheries resources. In this study, we select the fishers in the vicinity of three wetlands (beels), two from West Bengal and one from Assam of the eastern part of India, who forms the units of sample. Their knowledge, attitude and practices on sustainable fisheries management were studied. Altogether 180 fishers were included for the study. The investigations found that majority of fishers (68.5 per cent) have correct knowledge. Although 65 per cent of the fishers have positive attitude but remaining 35 per cent have either negative attitude or did not give any answer. However, the study found that although a significant number of fishers have correct knowledge and positive attitude but only 48 per cent did right practice towards resource sustainability/conservation. The ordinal regression shows that education influenced the correct statement regarding knowledge, attitude and practice positively. Commensurate with the global trend of ensuring fishers’ participation in development plans for management of fisheries, the paper suggests to encash the correct knowledge and positive attitude of the fishers and makes them one important player in resource conservation plans. In order to do this, however, communities must be empowered and resources provided. On the other hand, the fishers and local communities will need to take more responsibility for conservation of the resources.