Indigenous Knowledge on Coastal Fisheries SW India - Economic viability, social impacts with poverty reduction

1. Indigenous Knowledge on Coastal Fisheries (SW India) - Economic viability, social impacts with poverty reduction Joseph Sebastian Paimpillil Center for Earth Research & Environment Management, Cochin 17, India, psjoseph@eth.net

2. Introduction Indigenous knowledge though being utilized by Indian coastal communities for the prediction of calamities such as coastal floods, coastal resource management etc., it is not widely utilized by the scientific community since they are not incorporated in the manuals. In SW India, IK is utilized in water management especially by the farmers engaged in paddy cultivation, fish farming and in coastal fisheries etc.

3. IK related to Indian Fisheries Seasonal availability & migration of fish in the sea & river waters Weather forecasting & fishing Manufacture of fishing nets & fishing equipments Manufacture of fishing boats Breeding & egg laying, hatching etc Pisciculture Poisonous, toxic & edible fish Fish harvesting Fish processing & preservation Fish poisoning plants Vernacular names, edibility & other properties Medicinal properties

4. Pokkalli paddy – Shrimp cultivation The farmers have developed sustainable mechanism for alternate farming of paddy and shrimp utilizing the ‘symbiotic relation ship’ between Pokkalli paddy and shrimp. In the coastal belts of Kerala (S.W India), indigenous knowledge is utilized in Pokkalli paddy – Shrimp cultivation. The farmers made the maximum use of their traditional knowledge in selecting the paddy variety, farms and water management etc. which helped them in augmenting their income from agricultural operations. These traditional paddy varieties even withstood the flooding by the 2004 tsunami. The traditional knowledge about tidal phases, seasonal availability and migration of shrimp to the estuarine waters are used in deciding the harvesting period of shrimps.

5. Community-based coastal resource management The shrimp- paddy farming, a community-based coastal resource management with participation of women and children, which is indeed healthier and sensible money wise, need to be encouraged to protect the coastal wetlands. As part of revitalizing pokkali paddy cultivation and encourage the women in participation, financial incentives for women for promoting the organic farming are initiated by National Bank for agriculture and rural development (NABARD) and by Fish farm development authority (FFDA). This alternative income-generating aquaculture improves coastal environments and conserves the biodiversity of the ecosystem and it is high time for socially and health conscious people to propagate the use of organic food and to encourage this farming practice to similar wetland regions of the world.

6. The Pokkali paddy - Unique variety To an extent, is saline, flood and acid resistant Absolutely no pesticide or fertilizers are used in the fields Vastly different from the other prevalent farming practices. The organically-grown Pokkali is famed for its peculiar taste and its high protein content. Farmers claim that the rice — its grains are extra large — has several medicinal properties. In the past, Pokkali provided the energy to fishermen to stay at sea all day.