ELEVATING FISHEaS OF DAL IN J SH
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Authors
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S. N. Ojha
Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Versova, Mumbai - 400 061
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R. S. Biradar
Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Versova, Mumbai - 400 061
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Tasaduq H. Shah
Department of Fisheries, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar - 190 001
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Shaukath Ali
Department of Fisheries, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar - 190 001
Abstract
The deteriorating condition of one of the most magnificent lakes of India,
the Dal Lake, has provoked a lot of research interest from the biological and
ecological points of view. However, the impact of deterioration of the ecology
on the inhabitant fisherfolk around Dal Lake has not been given much
importance. In this study, the three major beats of the lake, namely, Hazratbal,
Nishat and Nehru Park, were surveyed, randomly taking 10% of the fishermen
families. It was observed that the summer mean catch per day (5.18 t 0.69
kg) was more than the mean winter catch per day (2.85 t 0.40 kg). However,
the total annual catch per person was only 1195.56 t 211.63 kg. Moreover,
marketing through middlemen, especially, during summer, was observed to
be very low fetching in terms of mean price per kilogramme fish, amounting
to Rs 37.50 t 2.54 for local fish and Rs 22.50 t 2.88 for the carp. It was also
observed that the fisherfolk had borrowed a good amount of money for the
repair and construction of their houses and boats. Therefore, on the whole,
the fishing business around Dal Lake was observed to be under severe stress.
In this context, this paper has come out with recommendations to uplift the
socio-economic conditions of the fishers.
Key words: Dal Lake, socio-economics, fisherfolk
