“To cover 10.98 lakh fishermen families.
The National Marine Fisheries Census 2010, expected to cost Rs.1.63 crore and visits by trained staff to 10.98 lakh fishermen families in 4,050 villages across the country, will begin on April 16.
The census will gather information about workers engaged in marine fishing and related matters. It is conducted by the Kochi-based Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) with financial support from Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries. CMFRI’s scientists and staff posted in different places would supervise the operations. The last such census was held in 2005, according to CMFRI Director G. Syda Rao.
About 2,100 specially trained enumerators will be deployed for census-related work which will go on till May 16. According to the 2005 census, there were 3.52 million sea-going fishermen in the country living in 3,202 marine fisheries villages. There were 2,38,722 fishing vessels, 58,911 of them motorised.
Of 29,241 trawlers, 8002 were in Gujarat, followed by Tamil Nadu (5,300), Maharashtra (4,219) and Kerala (3,982). Of the total population of marine fisher folk, 48.6 per cent were women. About 62 per cent of fishermen did not own fishing craft or fishing nets.
The census will try to understand the level of understanding among fishermen about climate change, fisheries laws and problems facing fishermen. This data could be used to prepare a comprehensive database for framing a fisheries development plan, according to Manmadhan Nair, Head, Kozhikode CMFRI Centre.”
