CMFRI’s Fisher Development Index stresses importance of resource sustainability

Research at CMFRI shows importance of sustainable fish stocks on fishermen's welfare, comparing Fisher Development Index to HDI.

Sustainable fish stocks, fish taxa diversity and harvest status play a significant role in the welfare of the community of fishermen, whose human development index is not at par with that of the general state population, says a group of researchers at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).

Examination of the Human Development Index (HDI) based on health, education and living standards used to measure the status of the general population may not be enough to capture the complexity involved in assessing a community of fishermen. It is here that the study of resource availability, sustainability, technology adoption and infrastructure support assume importance, says the paper authored by Shyam S. Salim, T. V. Sathianandan, Kolliyil Sunil Mohamed, R. Narayankumar and N.R. Athira.

The researchers developed a Fisher Development Index on the lines of HDI, giving due importance to central issues in the principal occupation of the fishermen community. It showed that Fisher Development Index in Kerala is above HDI among the general population in India but lower than the index among the general population in Kerala.

The study, A Fisher Development Index (FDI) for Assessing Human Development in Marine Fishers of Kerala, found that over the past 15 years, human development index scores had improved due to an increase in values for income and literacy. However, FDI improved by 74% due to very high improvements in technological proficiency. The wide use of communication and fishing aids has been attributed to increased literacy rate among fishers over time.

Major sources of the datasets used for the development of the index were Marine Fisheries Census 2005, 2010 and 2016 reports. These censuses were undertaken by ICAR-CMFRI with funding assistance from the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

The study also found that there is a positive relation between government expenditure on fisher welfare and increase in FDI and HDI over the period pointing to the success of official affirmative action.

The CMFRI paper pointed out that the social status of fishers indicated literacy playing an important role in augmenting people’s capabilities and ability to access resources and information. In turn, this motivates fishers to manage and conserve marine resources. There has been progressive rise in the literacy rate among fishermen strengthening their ability to adopt to new requirements.