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The floodplain wetlands or the oxbow lakes support millions of rural poor for earning their livelihood and nutritionalsecurity. The present study was conducted among the fisher households in two floodplain wetlands (locally known asbeel) of West Bengal (Kholsi and Akaipur) and one in Assam (Deepor). One hundred fisher households from West Bengaland 80 fisher households from Assam were selected using simple random sampling method. The study indicated that thesocio-economic conditions of the fisher households based on the level of education, operational holdings and off farmincome were well below the desired level. Fishing was the major occupation of around 70% of the fishers of West Bengaland 90% of fishers of Assam. The fishery contributed more than 60% of the household income to 42% fishers of West Bengaland 90% of fishers of Assam. In Deepor Beel it was found that no fisher household received less than 40% of their livelihoodfrom the beel. Further, the study showed that beel fishes were the only source of animal protein to more than 71% of thehouseholds of Deepor Beel. Similarly, more than 68% of households in West Bengal beels obtained animal proteins throughfishes caught in the beel itself. For sustainable use of wetland resources and to ensure livelihood and food security, there isa need to design appropriate management strategies. Arrangement of supplementary livelihood options was prescribed forthe fishers to reduce the fishing pressure on the wetlands. Keywords: Animal protein, Assam, Fishers, Floodplain wetlands, Livelihood, West Bengal

Labeo bata fry were reared in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pens at different stocking densities to determine growth, survival, feed utilization efficiency and economics in Borkona beel, Barpeta, Assam. Pens (500 m2 each) were stocked with fry at four stocking densities, 3 (SD3), 5 (SD5), 7 (SD7) and 9 (SD9) no. m−2 in triplicates. Feeding was performed twice a day at a rate of 3–5% body weight with floating pelleted feed containing 28% crude protein. Fish grew from 2.38 ± 0.30 g to 82.78 ± 3.18, 75.94 ± 0.89, 71.94 ± 0.89 and 61.81 ± 3.35 g at stocking densities of 3, 5, 7 and 9 no. m−2, respectively. Weight gain per cent ranged from 2491.85 ± 140.56 to 3371.33 ± 133.16 and specific growth rate from 1.41 ± 0.02 to 1.55 ± 0.02, both of which decreased with increasing stocking density. The net and gross yields increased with increasing stocking density and were highest at SD9. The benefit-cost ratio was maximum at SD7 (1.42), followed by SD9 (1.41). Post-pen culture, the monthly income of fishers increased by 6.10% (SD3) to 40.50% (SD9). Significant differences (p > 0.05) in water quality parameters were not observed between treatments (inside pens) and reference site (outside pen at 10 m distance). Weight gain exhibited a significant positive correlation with temperature (r = 0.92; p = 0.029) and alkalinity (r = 0.95; p = 0.014). The present study can provide impetus towards species diversification in pen enclosures, income enhancement of small-scale wetland fishers and sustainable ecosystem-based floodplain wetland fisheries management.

The extremely severe cyclonic storm, Fani, the strongest tropical cyclone to hit India in 20 years, caused a landfall in the Bay of Bengal coast of Odisha, India in May 2019 and considerably impacted the lives and livelihoods of fisher families. The present study was based on primary data collected from 150 fishers’ households located around Debi River, Mahanadi Estuary and Chilika Lagoon in Odisha. Twenty four per cent of the respondents reported severe damages to their kachha houses, while 43% respondent reported loss of fishing nets due to this extreme cyclonic event. Around 37% of the fishing boats were severely damaged. The household items and stored agricultural produce were also damaged. The damages were much less in Mahanadi Estuary and northern sector of Chilika Lagoon due to reduced intensity of the storm. The study further found that overall the resilience of the fisher households was poor. Six out of 12 indicators of resilience were in ‘crisis’ category while only four were in ‘desirable’ category. The Government needs to consider providing quick assistance to the fishers keeping in view the loss of livelihood; besides, special initiatives are necessary to be planned to enhance the resilience of the fisher households for such unforeseen events which have become regular occurrences in the east coast of Bay of Bengal.

The rapid degradation, overexploitation and encroachment of floodplain wetlands have led to considerable decline in fish diversity and production from these invaluable aquatic resources threatening livelihood of the dependent fishers. The climate change evident in the fast few decades have further aggravated the problem of eutrophication causing water stress, sedimentation leading to rampant macrophyte proliferation affecting ecological and economic functioning of these ecosystems. Macrophyte control and management needs serious attention for sustaining ecosystem services provided by these resources. In this direction pen culture of grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella as a biocontrol for macrophytes along with Indian major carps was implemented in a co-management mode in Beledanga, a typical floodplain wetland, a gradually shrinking, macrophyte dominated floodplain wetland in lower Ganga basin. Indian major carps Labeo catla (6.28±0.23g), Labeo rohita (5.1±0.12g), Cirrhinus mrigala (3.5±0.08g) were stocked in the ratio 4:3:3 at the rate of 20 no./m2 in pens (0.1ha each) in triplicate. Grass carp (7.1±0.42g) was stocked in pen at the rate of 20 no./m2. The fishes were fed with pelleted feed twice a day at the rate of 2-3% of body weight per day. The seed was overwintered in pens for a period of 90 days from November 2019-January 2020. Average weight recorded at the end of culture period was 25.13±1.70g, 18.11±0.63g, 14.53±0.87g and 39.20±1.90g in L. catla, L. rohita, C. mrigala and C. idella respectively. The survival of fish ranged from 70 to 81%. Growth performance and feed utilization efficiency of grass carp was significantly higher (p

India is blessed with vast floodplain wetland resources of 0.5 million ha that are distributed in the Eastern and North Eastern States. They possess varying morphometry, ecological profile, trophic...

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented human health crisis in recent global history with rippling social and economic effects. The outbreak in India has resulted in emergency lockdown in the country for more than two months and that caused decline in the fish catch has severely affected the life and livelihoods of the fishers. The wetlands offers tremendous scope for expanding both culture and capture based fisheries for livelihood security of fishers. They also play a key role in socio-economic development by generating employment and livelihood in the studied regions. In the present study a systematic rapid assessment was conducted to find the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on floodplain wetland fisheries in India to evaluate the impact of lockdown on wetland fisheries production, income and food access. We undertook a rapid telephone survey with 176 wetland fishers in 3 states. Fishers of three Indian States Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam lost 20, 25, and 9 fishing days respectively. Fish harvest during March to May was 32, 44 and 20 percentage lower respectively than the previous year in Bihar, West Bengal and Assam. Fishers of Bihar, West Bengal and Assam lost income of INR 10000/-, 12500/- and 4500/-due to lockdown. Demand supply gap during the lockdown led to the in 20–40 percent increase in farm gate price of fishes at the wetland level. The wetland fisheries potential to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ‘eradication of poverty’; ‘zero hunger’ and ‘good health and well being’ have also been considerably impacted due to this pandemic. The paper discusses several magnitudes of immediate impacts of lockdown on floodplain wetland fishers livelihood, income and food access, highlights issues and suggests strategies, advisories and decisions support to mitigate the impact.

The present study confirmed the occurrences of Walton’s mudskipper Periophthalmus waltoni Koumans 1941 under the family Gobiidae as the first kind of record from the estuarine region of river Narmada of Gujarat, India. A total of 21 specimens were collected with the size ranging from 124 to 145 mm and from 10.7 to 26.2 g, respectively, from Jageshwar fishing sites during the monsoon period (July–September 2019). Walton’s mudskipper was reported to be found in countries like Iran, Iraq, Oman and Pakistan, but its availability in Indian waters is questionable. The present findings confirmed the occurrences of the species in the Narmada estuary, Gujarat, India drainage to the Arabian Sea.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented human health crisis in recent global history with rippling social and economic effects. The outbreak in India has resulted in emergency lockdown in the country for more than 2 months, and that caused decline in the catch, demand, and supply of fish. It has severely altered the life and livelihoods of the floodplain wetland fishers. These floodplain wetlands play a key role in socio-economic development of stakeholders, by generating employment and livelihood in the studied regions. In the present study, a systematic assessment was conducted to identify the impact of lockdown on floodplain wetland fisheries in India with the aim to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on wetland fishing, fisheries production, income, and food access. We conducted a rapid telephonic survey covering176 wetland fishers in 3 states to document the early impacts of the pandemic and policy responses on floodplain wetland fisher households. The majority of fishers report negative impacts on production, sales, and incomes. Fishers of three Indian states Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam lost 20, 25, and 9 fishing days, respectively. About 70, 60, and 55 % fishers of floodplain wetlands of the three states admitted that lockdown made them partially jobless. Fish harvest during March to May was 32, 44, and 20 % lower than the previous years in Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam. The fishers of Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam lost income of INR 10000/-, 12500/-, and 4500/- due to lockdown. The analysis also showed that 25% of fishers each responded moderate to severe psychological impact and anxiety symptoms due to COVID-19. Demand supply gap during the lockdown led to the in 20-40 % increase in farm gate price of fishes at the wetland level. The present study is the first of its kind in India to systematically assess the impact and discusses several magnitudes on floodplain wetland fisher livelihood, income, and food access and suggests strategies and decision support.

Background: India is the largest producer as well as consumer of pulses in the world due to higher relance of their people on vegetarian sources of proteins, however, we have been dependent on import of pulses for meeting our demand for pulses over several decades. As a strategy to be self-reliant in pulses production two important initiatives were taken by the government of India viz. implementation of Accelerated Pulses Production Program (A3P) and inclusion of pulses in the National Food Security Mission (NFSM-Pulses) during 2010-11. Pigeon pea has tremendous medicinal and pharmacological properties and uses in addition to the good quality source of proteins. Significant improvement observed in production and productivity of pigeon pea after the A3P and NFSM-Pulses was questioned for its Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth. Methods: This study was designed to assess impact of A3P and NFSM-Pulses on TFP of Pigeon pea in major Indian producing states. TFP was estimated with the help of Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) using Data Envelopment Analysis Program (DEAP) version-2.1 in five states of India viz., Gujarat, Karnataka, MP, Maharashtra and UP which contribute more than three-fourth pigeon pea production in India. Result: TFP change in period-II (after A3P and NFSM-Pulses) was invariably higher than the TFP change in period-I (before the initiatives) in all the studied states. It indicates that these government initiatives contributed to the enhancement of production and productivity of pigeon pea with the support of better technology adoption rather than just led by higher use of inputs.

Cage fish farming in Indian reservoirs has the potential to enhance the reservoir production manifold. The present study estimated that around 14,000 cages have been installed in different reservoirs of the country which are producing around 16% of the current reservoir fish production. Around 7.5 lakh mandays of labour are being generated by cage fish farming in the country. An empirical study in the state of Jharkhand State found that the adoption of cage culture contributed around 30% to the livelihood of fishers. Cage culture not only increased monthly family income but also reduced the occupational migration. The fishermen households who adopted cage farming also accumulated some durable assets due to improvement in household income. However, high initial cost of cage culture operation, high feed cost and low market price of cultured pangas fish ( Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) were some of the major constraints in adopting the technology as reported by the fishers. The study recommends that the state departments need to promote the use of low cost galvanised iron(GI) cages designed by the ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CIFRI) in reservoirs which may play a significant role in fulfilling the vision of blue revolution in the country. Keywords: Cage fish farming, Livelihood, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, Reservoir

The livelihood of most of the fishers in Indian Sundarbans is dependent on Penaeus monodon post larvae fishing. These post larvae collectors are socially backward lacking economic security. The activity of collecting Penaeus monodon post larvae for rearing in aquaculture, destroy other aquatic species. Many other juveniles of shellfish and fin fish were destroyed in the process of collection of Penaeus monodon post larvae. The removal of juveniles before they reach maturity disturbs the ecological chain by hampering breeding processes and may cause extinction of some fish species in the long run. The present study is an attempt to estimate the economic value of juveniles destroyed in the collection of (Penaeus monodon) post larvae. In total 32 species were identified in P.monodon the post larval by-catch. The economic loss is assessed based on estimating biomass by taking a length-weight relationship from published literature. Further, the paper illustrates how does a profit enterprise is linked with natural resource exploitation. The paper explores government policy and nature conservation issues for social justice and effective conservation.In conclusion, suggestions are given to reduce the burden of livelihood on natural resources to the extent of exploitation and to strengthen institution and policy-making considering socio-ecological vulnerabilities of the area.

This paper overviews the role of exotic fishes in providing ecosystem services such as employment, economy, efficiency, exchange and equity using various case studies in the Indian subcontinent in a socio-economic perspective. Case study I identified that the culture period of exotics especially Tilapia species (i.e., 180–200 days) created a total labour requirement of 840 labour days compared to agricultural labour. Case study II identified a 20% increase in contribution of share of the fisheries sector during 2010–2019 to the country’s national Gross Value Added (GVA) due to exotics. Case III found that the fisheries export earnings of exotics in fiscal year 2019–20 increased to over 6678.69 million USD from 2132.84 million USD in 2009–2010. Case study IV identified greater involvement of women in fish farming activities, especially 2% in intensive aquaculture and 50% in extensive aquaculture. The current systematic review attempted to highlight that exotic fishes have a productive role in steering the regional economy through providing basic tangible ecosystem services that may be identified in monetary terms. The identification and evaluation of aquaculture-based ecosystem services provided by exotic fishes often leads to a dilemma whether to ban or promote the culture of such exotic fish species. Previous studies revealed that the economic impacts of aquatic exotic species are significantly positively correlated with their ecological impacts. Unfortunately, assessment of ecological impacts required evaluation of losses due to exotics or ecosystem services offered by exotics, which was greatly lacking across globe. This review summarizes the positive effects of exotics taking ecosystem services into account, despite the need for controlling invasive species for the ecology.

The inland traditional fishers, such as those from riverine, estuarine, reservoirs, and wetlands of India, are primarily dependent on natural waters for their livelihoods. Governments at various levels have made several efforts, including decentralization of management rights, promotion of cooperatives and formation of self-help groups, to develop the fisheries. Despite these efforts, production from most of the culture-based inland fishery waters (particularly adopting fish stock enhancements) is below potential, as a vast gap is observed between the potential and existing fish production. There is immense potential for increasing the fishing effort, production and income. Capture fishery resources, particularly in the riverine fisheries, are declining due to resource degradation and excessive exploitation. The impact of fisheries developmental programmes instituted by government agencies like the National Fisheries Development Board are hardly recognised on fisheries communities due to the multiple-use common pool resource nature of the fishing resource. Comprehensive investigations on the socioeconomic status of riverine fisher communities are rare. The present investigation studies the socioeconomic conditions of riverine fisher communities in different regions of India. The study covered six states of five regions in India: Uttar Pradesh in the North; Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the South; Orissa and West Bengal in the East; Gujarat in the West; Assam in the northeastern region. The overall socioeconomic index results concluded that almost all the regions have achieved only 46% to 52% of the socioeconomic criteria studied. Institutional financial support for alternate income generation activities; organisation under self-help groups, and vocational training for fisherwomen to undertake alternate income-generating activities during the closed/off season are some of the suggestions resulting from the investigation.

India has vast inland water resources having immense potential for aquaculture potential. Assessment of water quality parameters is a pre-requisite to any scientific intervention as they are of prime importance in fisheries perspective. However, monitoring water quality parameters of such vast area is not an easy task with the conventional tools and methods. In the present study, water quality parameters and chlorophyll pigment concentration were assessed using IRS P-6 remote sensing imagery in the Cauvery watershed of Karnataka State, India. Images captured by optical satellite sensors are often obscured by atmospheric effects. Hence, the images were rectified by Dark pixel subtraction method before analysing data in order to extract useful information from the imagery. The study revealed that there was significant correlation between spectral reflectance and in-situ water quality parameters. Near infra-red band (0.77-0.86 µm), was useful to assess the water quality parameters like depth, specific conductivity, total alkalinity, chlorinity, salinity and turbidity. Similarly, short wave infrared band (1.55-1.70 µm) was useful for assessing chlorophyll-a. However, the models were found to be region specific and they appear to have potential for monitoring water quality of large water bodies at regular intervals.

Inland open waters like any other natural resources are complex, multi-functional, and provide a number of ecosystem services contributing to human welfare. However, we often underestimate their values since we get most of the services for free. Therefore, economic valuation could be a powerful tool for realizing the actual values of these precious natural resources and thereby contributing to shaping the policies governing their conservation and sustainable utilization. The present study attempted to value some of the ecosystem services of Gosaba Island which is an estuarine ecosystem situated in Indian Sundarbans. For the study, primary and secondary data were collected from the different stakeholders. Out of the several ecosystem services in the selected ecosystem, seven services viz, fisheries, eco-tourism, agriculture, nontimber forest produce (NTFP), dike protection function of mangroves, carbon stored and option use value (through WTP) were considered for the valuation exercises. Different valuation techniques like market price, revenue generation, Travel Cost Method, Contingent Valuation were applied. It was estimated that the minimum value of the six goods and services were Rs.69,527 lakh per annum, among them carbon store value, eco-tourism, dike protection function of mangroves. In addition, the option use value was estimated to be Rs. 5.82 lakh. Fisheries, agriculture were the major components. The study is important in understanding the value of the ecosystem services which may help in their conservation. Key words Valuation; Estuary; Sundarbans

As the world is moving towards ‘knowledge economy’, training and capacity building has become an integral part of all organizations. The trainers themselves need to undergo training programmes to increase their efficiency. The present study aims to investigate the impact of five trainers’ training programmes in the inland fishery sector of India based on participants’ perceptions and changes in human capital, i.e., knowledge, attitude, and skill. The training effectiveness index was devised for this purpose consisting of six parameters namely, expectation fulfillment, the overall grading of the programme, the extent of satisfaction, change in knowledge, attitude, and skill level of the participants. The statistically significant change in knowledge level in all programmes and in attitude level in two programmes was recorded. The effectiveness scores ranged from 71.76 to 80.66 percent. The motivation for participation, perceived challenges, suggestions for improvement, and future action plans were also noted. Based on the findings a three-stage training cycle has been recommended by the authors for improving the efficiency of training programmes. Some of the recommended measures are conducting Training Need Analysis (TNA), application of simulation method for skill-building, the inclusion of more practical and field-oriented sessions, carrying out microlab in the beginning of the training for building positive effect, post-training follow up with the motherorganizations and analyzing the impact of training on job performance. The findings are expected to aid in designing more efficient training programmes in the inland fishery sector in the future. Key words Trainers’ training; Training effectiveness index; Human capital; Training cycle

This paper assessed the system of contract farming in potato cultivation in the state of West Bengal, India, by comparing the production of potatoes under noncontract and contractual systems. The data were collected from 139 noncontract and 144 contract farmers spread over 13 blocks of four districts of the state during the year 2008. The results indicated that no government functionary was involved in the contract farming arrangement and that the agreements were largely verbal. Vendors were appointed by the company; they managed the total affairs for a group of villages. Although the price was fixed well before planting, it was not fixed uniformly across the state. Contract farmers planted more seed per hectare than noncontract farmers and used relatively more seed from their own seed stock. The number of agricultural assets per household was higher in contract farmers. Further, it was found that the cost of cultivation was higher for cv. Atlantic as compared to cv. K. Jyoti. The major costs were those for planting, fertilizers and micronutrients, irrigation and land preparation for both cultivars. Farmers without contracts incurred losses but contract farmers growing cv. Atlantic received net returns of about INR15,000 (EUR 238) per hectare. Lack of remunerative price, bad seed quality, occurrence of late blight, expensive seed and labour shortage were the major constraints faced by the noncontract farmers. The contract farmers also experienced many problems like high cost of cultivation, late blight infestation, low yield, lack of clear contract agreement and difficulties in disposing off the leftover potatoes. The findings suggest an involvement of the local government, a uniform fixation of the price throughout the state, written and clear agreements and development of good dual purpose (processing as well as table) potato cultivars for the farmers for boosting the enterprise. For noncontract potato farming, a ‘price stabilization fund’ could be created to minimize the price fluctuation. Low-cost farm implements, low-cost and effective late blight controlling fungicides, supplying good quality seed at reasonable rates by the Agriculture Department were some of the other suggestions emerging from this study.

For the resource-poor fishers, livelihood diversification is a strategy to cope with the uncertainties and inadequateness of fisheries as a profession. The present study is an attempt to assess the socioeconomic conditions together with livelihood diversification of fishermen households of the Bhagirathi– Hooghly stretch of Ganga River. Data were collected by personally interviewing 500 fishermen from Sagar to Farakka (560 km stretch) in West Bengal using survey schedules in 2016. Analysis of data indicated that the socio-economic conditions of fishermen households were not encouraging. Fishing is the main occupation of around 88.60% of fishers and overall, fishing contributes about 70.30% to the total income of the family. Average number of income-generating activities per household ranged from 1.43 in the lower stretch to 1.79 in the upper stretch. Further, it was found that not only the average household income and number of income sources were limited, their level of diversification was also quite low. The monthly income of a household was found to be Rs 9391. The income is higher in the lower stretch because of higher catch and high value fish in the catch. Fishery as an only profession is unable to provide a decent life. The study also revealed that among other factors, the Simpson index contributes positively and significantly towards per capita income of the fisher households. However, in the absence of suitable alternative opportunities, the resource is under pressure. Government needs to develop appropriate strategies to facilitate successful livelihood diversification. Facilities may be created for non-fishing activities like fish marketing kiosks, cloth weaving facilities, agro-processing in fruit orchard areas, e-rickshaws and so on. Fishers may be trained in other income-generating activities like carpentry, embroidery, dress making, driving, etc. for better livelihood.

Potato processing in India has shown a tremendous growth in the recent past, creating a proportionate increase in demand for processing quality potatoes. Reliable annual demand estimates of processing quality potato tubers in India were not available; hence, the current study was undertaken to provide such estimates. The study was based on a survey of 442 households in the state Maharashtra in India, which was regarded to be representative for India in the consumption of processed potato products. The annual expenditure on potato products during 2006–2007 in Maharashtra was estimated to be INR 5,254 million (€ 93.82 million), which was equivalent to 28,148 Mg of physical processed potato products and 83,333 Mg of processing quality potato tubers (0.38% of national potato production during 2006–2007, i.e. 22.09 million Mg). When the estimates were generalised to a national level, the requirement of processing-quality potato tubers in 2006–2007 was equal to 4.04% of national potato production. The forecasted annual demand of potato products in Maharashtra during 2011–2012 was 75,375 Mg and the corresponding demand of processing quality potato tubers was 230,760 Mg (0.75% of the estimated national potato production during 2011–2012, i.e. 30.89 million Mg). When generalised at national level, the demand of processing quality potato tubers during 2011–2012 was found to be 8% of the estimated national potato production.

Distant metastases in squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx have an incidence of 6.5-7.2% and most commonly involves the lungs, liver, and bone. Metastases to the skin are very rare, but, when present, they are usually considered a poor prognostic sign. This most often affect the supradiaphragmatic area, i.e., the head, neck, thorax, or upper extremities. We have reported 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) scan of a patient with squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx showing multiple subcutaneous nodules all over the body, which was helpful in the assessment as well as staging of the disease.

Secondary data analysis for state domestic product for the last 64 years revealed that the percentage contribution of primary sector and within the sector, the contribution of agriculture and animal husbandry sub-sector has reduced considerably though in absolute terms all the sectors has increased. Analysis of primary data from a flood prone area of Odisha revealed that non-farm income contributed 65 percent, while on-farm income contributed only 35 percent of the total income. Among non-farm income sources, other non-farm activities like crusher labour, vegetable business, shop keeping, construction work, repairing shop, etc. contributed maximum (29 percent) followed by salaried job (23 percent) and remittances (14 percent). Due to distress factors like frequent occurrence of natural calamities, farmers have diversified their income sources. Investment in human capital and creation of more non-farm employment opportunities in the study area, development of tube well irrigation and flood tolerant rice varieties as well as popularization of crop insurance programmes will help in increasing and stabilizing the income of farmers in flood prone areas of Odisha in the long run.