Socio-economics of traditional fishermen in Tirunelveli coast of Tamil Nadu

An investigation on the socio-economic condition of traditional fishermen was carried out in Alanthalai fishing village near Tiruchendur, along Tirunelveli Coast of Tamil Nadu. Information pertaining to housing pattern, ownership of means of production, employment status, occupation, annual income, indebtedness, marketing problems, etc. was collected from all families of the village by interviewing the heads of households. The analysis of housing pattern indicates that 31 % of families live in temporary structures (huts), 28% in semipermanent (tiled roof) and 41 % in permanent structures (concrete). About 70% of the houses have less than 500 sq. ft. of living space. The average size of family is 6. Almost all (98%) are in favour of dowrj' system and not in favour of inter-caste marriages. About 90 % of the fishermen are against family planning. Catamaran is the lone craft operating in this area. About 38 % of the fishermen households owns catamaran units and 7% has only nets. 60% of the catamaran owners possesses less than 2 type of nets which is not suflUcient for efficient operation throughout the year. Tne average initial investment of a catamaran unit works out at Rs. 9,950. Chalamla alone accounts 55 % of the total investment OP gears. Other sardines constitute 83%of the annual catch of a catamaran. The major source of income for 71 % of the families is active fishing, for 11 % fishery related activities and for the rest (18%) other activities. The average annual income of a fisherman household works out at Rs. 4,886. About 44% of the fishermen families are in debt. The average outstanding debt per indebted household is Rs. 2,915. About 49 % of the loan amount is utilized for productive purposes. The flow of credit from institutional agencies is only 34%. Easy availability of credit through institutional agencies, opportimities for supplementary occupations and better infrastructure facilities for marketing are some of the suggestions given for the economic improvement of traditional fisheiTnen