Functioning of Fishing Cooperative Societies in Selected States of India

In India and other developing countries, the role of institutional support and social connectedness among fishing communities is played by and large by conventional fishermen groups, fishermen cooperative societies, federations, etc. These organizations by their very nature and reason for existence are aimed at increasing the maximum output from the fishery resources and thereby, increasing the livelihood, income and wellbeing of their members. In India, fishing cooperative societies have been studied by very few researchers and most of these studies have focused on performance of fishing cooperatives on production, marketing and financial aspects. Fishing cooperative societies as a social organization have not adequately been studied in India. This paper reports findings from a study undertaken to assess the internal functioning of the fishing cooperative societies established and promoted under different scenarios. The study covered 58 fishing cooperative societies in three states viz. Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.