How to Fish: Combining Indigenous,Traditional and Scientific Fishery Advisories to Preserve Marine Provisioning Ecosystem Services of Odisha,India

Abstract

Many marine fishing villages in India are transitioning into centres of industrialised fishing where the marine fishers are forced to choose between the use of indigenous and traditional knowledge (ITK; perceived to be outdated, resulting in low turnovers) and the use of accurate scientific advisories (Marine Fishery Advisories; MFAs) disseminated by ESSO-INCOIS (limited by a lack of awareness or practice) to locate potential fishing zones (PFZs) in the open sea. The present investigation provides a ground-level assessment of the existing methods of ITK across 14 fish landing centres (FLCs) in Odisha towards delineating the PFZ by non-motorised (NM) and motorised (MR) crafts fishers of 163 respondents in total. The relative advantages and limitations of the ITK versus the MFA approaches as reflected in the net profits of marine fishers across NM and MR crafts were evaluated through various statistical techniques, for example, correlation matrix, Kruskal–Wallis test, etc. The investigation revealed that a combination of the two approaches significantly correlated with an increase in the profits, providing opportunities to plan for the preservation of the provisioning ecosystem services for marine fish by conforming to stock preservation and diversification through the traditional knowledge of the spawning seasons and the use of MFAs to plan “non-intrusive” routes/windows for fishing with the enhancement of modern technology. The study illustrates that the multiple co-benefits of the ITK + MFA method to delineate PFZs can be useful to achieve the targets of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14b, promote responsible consumption, and enhance health through sustainable human–environment relationships on a long-term basis.

Introduction

In recent times, new emerging centres of socio-economic development have populated the map of the Global South, including India, profiting from the splurge of urbanisation, mostly attributed to technological advancements in the region. In particular, the coastal and marine zones of India, with their rich and diverse flora and fauna, contribute significantly to the regional and local economies. ¹ However, marine provisioning services have been affected by the extractive nature of the modern fishing industry both globally and regionally in the following ways:

• Misuse of modern technology, for example, mis-regulation of fishing through excessive motoring in eco-sensitive zones, usage of LED lights, echo sounders for attracting fish shoals, etc., ² have led to a decrease in fish stocks over long periods of time. On the other hand, the use of space-based technology is considered as no-fail methods to detect and assess the fishing grounds for sustainable marine resources management in India. ³

• Excess fishing and fish production have been known to cause health inequalities at national and global levels. ⁴ However, with over 25% of children being malnourished in rural Odisha (Source: https://worldfishcenter.org/press-release/worldfish-partners-odisha-state-scale-aquaculture-and-reduce-malnutrition), the protein contributed through fish and seafood is predicted to have a high value in decreasing the health-related issues at ground level.

• Very little regulation in terms of non-uniform net sizes, fishing during ban periods and in the restricted zones, increased subsidies for diesel, etc., ⁵ are causes of socio-economic challenges for fishing communities. However, the ground implementation of the fishing ban specified through policies is not exercised well.

• Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing has negatively impacted the enterprise with nation-wide implications for the national economy. ⁶ There is no actual awareness about IUU in states such as Odisha, especially among the fishers.

Under these circumstances, the present study is designed to preserve the marine ecosystem services, particularly for the marine fisheries with the combine utilisation of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITK) and scientific Marine Fishery Advisory (MFA) services in India, with a particular focus on Odisha. The research problems have been identified based on the extensive literature reviews provided below, where the relevance of the ITK as well as MFAs was explored to strengthen the present research objectives. This study is based on the socio-technical system (STS) theory, ⁷ which provides a useful framework to understand how ITK and MFA can be combinedly utilised for sustainable fisheries in Odisha. This theory emphasised that the optimal outcomes emerge when social practices, traditional norms and community decision-making structures are aligned with technological tools such as satellite-based forecasts, PFZ and OSF advisories. ⁸ Instead of treating fishers as passive users of technology, a socio-technical perspective recognises them as active co-creators who adapt and refine scientific advisories based on experiential knowledge. Therefore, it is assumed that combined utilisation of indigenous techniques and scientific advisories enhances safety, livelihood resilience, and environmental sustainability, ensuring that technological advancements meaningfully support and complement long-standing community practices of the marine fishers.

In India, a large population of humans relies on the provisioning ecosystem services (ESs; in the form of fisheries) within the regions of high fishery potential, such as Odisha, as well as the regulatory services attributed to mangroves, wetlands, biodiversity, etc., spread across large extents of eco-sensitive coastal areas of the state. ⁹ It is widely accepted that nature-friendly fishing methodologies (e.g., ITK) can help to reduce the negative human impacts on the sea and help in the preservation of both the provisioning and regulatory services in public discourses, but are less reflected in targeted policies for the development of these states, ranking low in fish production. ¹⁰ In the case of marine fisheries, the utilisation of various kinds of ITK by the fishers has been observed in performing small-scale fishing practices as well as in the prediction of weather related to the fishing activities in order to meet their livelihoods across different parts of the country and world. ¹¹ However, in particular, the ITK of the local people and communities is considered “outdated” and less profitable for the enhancement of the fisheries. Thus, native methodologies (for example, (1) craft building according to the depth of the water column, (2) net making (of varied fabrics and mesh sizes), (3) the use of natural engineering techniques for the construction of shore-areas (e.g., the use of bamboo that can withstand the impacts of cyclones, etc.) and (4) traditional identification of fishing zones according to ocean state), which provide conjunctive and sustainable resource management strategies, are lost among the mainstream approaches to the eco-restoration and preservation of fish stocks for sustained ecosystem services. Consequently, the above-mentioned factors, pertaining to environmental, social, administrative and political issues, related to the marine fishing industry, deem the provisioning ESs of fisheries redundant to the extent of a partial or total loss of the ESs.

In general, ITK can be described as a body of knowledge that has been accumulated, built up and developed by a group of people of a particular society based on their ancient wisdom, past experience and beliefs through the generations of living and co-existence in close contact with nature. ¹² Usually, ITK is passed down from one generation to another through direct apprenticeship or through various traditional methods such as customs, folklore, myths, mores, folk songs, proverbs, puppetry, etc., which are closely associated with their local environment in a particular geographical area in order to sustain themselves and also to maintain their cultural and ethnical identities. ¹³ Therefore, ITK plays a very crucial role in natural resource management at the local scale as it is socially desirable, economically affordable and ecologically sustainable and also involves minimum risk and focuses on the efficient utilisation of eco-friendly resources. ¹⁴

The ESSO-Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (ESSO-INCOIS) develops and disseminates MFAs, that is, PFZ advisories, to all the marine fishers in India on a daily basis subject to availability of the free cloud satellite data except for fish ban periods. ¹⁵ PFZs help the fishers to locate reliable and short-term fish aggregation zones in the open sea, which reduces search time and, hence, fuel consumption. ¹⁶ During extreme weather events, that is, high waves, cyclones and storm surges, INCOIS also disseminates alerts to marine fishers to not venture into the sea for fishing expeditions. ¹⁷ In this way, the uncertainty and risks associated with marine fishing expeditions can be reduced using MFAs, although the value addition to the ecosystem services using these technologies has not yet been assessed for the state of Odisha in line with achieving the targets of SDG 14. ¹⁸ A recent review conducted by Kundu and Santhanam ¹⁹ highlighted the fruitfulness of these advisories in achieving sustainable marine fishing practices in India. It has also been reported that the use of ITK is significant for sustainable fishing practices and, hence, good for the marine environment as it is attributed to small-scale fisheries. Moreover, ITK associated with climatic parameters, that is, sea current, wind speed and direction, is treated as a primary parameter affecting marine fisheries in terms of fish migration and its availability. ²⁰ However, several studies have indicated that the use of ITK along with modern technologies such as space-based MFAs could have higher potential for fishers in order to capture more fish and, hence, more profits by providing more diverse knowledge. ²¹

It is increasingly being observed that in an attempt to enhance fish production, favouring the use of modern technology compromises the use of indigenous fishing knowledge that existed among the coastal communities, ²² although these very methods had helped to sustain the livelihoods of those communities and the coastal systems over millenniums. ²³ Indigenous technologies and tools, largely unreported or unexplored offer the technological means to sustain the production of fish systems and prevent a large-scale, mass loss of coastal and marine species. ²⁴

The recognition of the value of the contributions of indigenous knowledge has recently started receiving wider attention in United Nations (UN)-led programmes such as the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), which has established a special Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) network. ²⁵ Indigenous knowledge of local fishers has been incorporated into modern fishery resource management across the world. ²⁶

While the usage of ITK has become limited under the scenarios of low stock availability in traditional fishing zones (TFZs), scientific satellite-derived MFAs can provide reliable methods to identify PFZs. Meanwhile, fishers are dependent on their traditional knowledge for qualitatively identifying PFZs through a time-tested approach, and the use of MFAs can additionally provide them with the advantage of a synoptic observation of special oceanic processes associated with PFZs for pre-determining their expeditions and conserving fuel and energy. In this context, this present study provides a detailed assessment of the roles of various kinds of ITK and MFAs used by fishers to locate the PFZs in Odisha, India.

The maritime state of Odisha, India, consists of the largest number of fishing villages across its six coastal districts along the coastline adjacent to the Bay of Bengal (BoB). ²⁷ The total coastal length of Odisha is about 574.71 km, consisting of 24,000 km² of the continental shelf, which is highly productive for marine fishing. ²⁸ However, marine fish production in Odisha has declined by half, that is, from 0.29 million metric tons (Mt) in 2011 to 0.10 Mt in 2019, ²⁹ in the last decade. The major threats to marine fisheries in coastal Odisha can be attributed to the degradation of sea water quality due to industrial effluent, changing patterns of coastal geomorphology due to changes in land use, loss of biodiversity due to habitat destruction in ecologically sensitive areas, that is, mangroves, lagoons, etc., as well as climatic impacts, that is, sea level rise, changing weather patterns, etc., which resulted in the depletion of marine resources. ³⁰ Olive Ridley turtle nesting sites exist along the mouth of Brahmani and Baitarani Rivers (Gahirmatha marine sanctuary in Kendrapara), Devi River’s mouth in Puri and Rushikulya River’s mouth in Ganjam, bringing them under fishing ban areas in Odisha during turtle breeding season. ³¹ Moreover, Odisha is one of the most vulnerable cyclone-prone states in India due to its sub-tropical littoral location. ³²

In this context, an attempt is being made through this study to demonstrate a balanced assessment of the benefits of ITK as well as MFAs to IPLCs of Odisha and also the impact of the emergence of modern technology using quantitative data analysis. The major evidence-based gap identified in the utilisation of MFAs is two-fold: one, the reluctance of fishers to adopt new, unknown technologies for fishing and, two, the unavailability of data on the value-addition of the ITK to this activity. In the background of the above considerations, we hypothesised that it is possible to achieve higher net profits by the marine fishers of Odisha by combining the information on PFZ provided through MFAs with additional validation of the ground conditions using their ITK methods.

This present study assessed the existing kinds of ITK used by the marine fishers followed by the combined utilisation of ITKs and modern space-based MFAs which can enhance the net profits of the marine fishers through sustainable access to the fishing grounds. Robust statistical techniques were applied with respect to the net profits of various categories of fishers utilising ITK, MFAs, or both ITK and MFAs based on the data collected during field survey among marine fishers from different FLCs in Odisha. Thus, this investigation was carried out to analyse and identify the opportunities available to assess the ground-level challenges as well as the usefulness of a combined technique for supporting sustainable fishery management, long-term preservation of the coastal and marine resources and promotion of the fishing enterprise of small-scale fisheries (SSFs) in Odisha as per the targets of SDG 14b imposed by the UN.

The overall framework of assessment, hence, is based on documenting the field experience of fishers, with specific emphasis on the use of geospatial technology as a fishing aid. Fishers’ perceptions of usage illustrated a necessity to study usage scenarios of merging scientific techniques with the traditional methods of fishing at the ground level. The qualitative surveys were planned to understand the community-level health benefits and well-being rendered by ITK-based methods, which are hitherto unreported in modern contexts. A detailed study, hence, of the above factors is explored herein for Odisha.

Methodology

Study Area

Figure 1 shows the location of the study area in Odisha along the north–east coast of India, adjacent to the BoB, where the field surveys were conducted. A total number of 14 FLCs were surveyed across all six coastal districts in Odisha along its 574.71 km long coastline with an intent to consider at least 1 FLC from a district. For a better understanding, coastal Odisha is divided into two parts – northern Odisha (consisting of two districts: Balasore and Bhadrak) and southern Odisha (consisting of four districts: Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri and Ganjam) in the present study based on the different coastal geomorphologies, socio-cultural setting and availability of fishing crafts as well. ³³ In this way, similar numbers of seven FLCs were selected from both northern Odisha and southern Odisha (a total of 14 FLCs; Figure 1) for the present study by avoiding major river mouths/estuaries and coastal sensitive zones (e.g., turtle nesting sites, mangroves, etc.) in order to ensure that the study lies within the marine fishing community only. The range of TFZ from the coastline for both the NM (up to 5 km) and MR (up to 15 km) sectors is indicated by dashed lines (blue for NM and red for MR) in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Locations of 14 FLCs across six coastal districts in Odisha where field surveys to assess technology usage scenarios were conducted during 2021 to 2022. Northern Odisha comprises the Balasore and Bhadrak districts, while the Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri and Ganjam districts are considered to represent southern Odisha based on the existing coastal geomorphological and socio-cultural differences between the northern and southern parts assessed during the surveys.

A recent report highlighted that the marine fishers in Odisha were impacted by factors of overcapacity, underemployment, health problems and low per capita income along with external factors such as a lack of alternative occupations, low levels of literacy, high levels of debt and lack of housing facilities, which have intensified due to the emergence of COVID-19. ³⁴ Most significantly, one-third of the marine fishers in Odisha face challenges due to rising prices, debt burden, dominance of middlemen, declining fish stocks, unavailability of good market prices, restrictive government policies, etc. Moreover, artisanal fishers claim that their livelihoods are greatly affected due to the emergence of mechanised (MC) fishing crafts in their traditional fishing grounds. ³⁵ Due to the presence of significant numbers of traditional marine fishers (80% of the total marine fisherfolk population) in the state, ³⁶ fishers are heavily dependent on ITK for fishing activities, that is, colour of water, bubble breaking of water, aggregation of birds/insects/frogs/crabs, wave height and wind direction, location of sun/stars and specific “tithi” or day, which often render the fishing activities in the open ocean uncertain and risky.

Ground Survey

A total number of 163 respondents from both non-motorised (NM, n = 69) and motorised (MR, n = 94) craft fishers were surveyed through one-to-one questionnaire surveys across 14 FLCs located in six coastal districts in Odisha, along with focused group discussions (FGDs) in each FLC over a 6-month period during 2021–2022. The respondents were primarily selected based on the stratified random sampling in each FLC across NM, MR and MC fishing crafts. Thereafter, the proportionate numbers of NM and MR craft respondents were selected based on their total availability within each category at every FLC, ensuring that the overall ratio was maintained. However, the surveyors were bound to choose the fishers as per the availability in each FLC during the survey. It is worth to mention that written consent was taken from the fishers before they participated in the surveys. The owners of the NM and MR craft fishers (operating as single owners and on a partnership basis) were surveyed in one-to-one while FGDs included labourers, drivers of the crafts, local retailers, etc., apart from the owners of the crafts during the field investigation (Figure 2 and Table 1). The owners were also a part of the crew member during the fishing expedition in case of the NM and MR crafts. Therefore, they have better knowledge regarding the exact expenditure, income as well as profits than the other crew members, hence, considered for one-to-one questionnaire survey. On the other hand, conduction of FGDs helps to understand the in-depth scenarios of marine fisheries for example, fishing techniques, fishing timings, groups involved for fishing along with their nativity status, ownership status and other parameters, which were crucial to investigate how to fish. The FLCs were selected based on the exclusion of major river mouths and the absence of ecosensitive coastal regions of Odisha in order to focus on marine fishing only. The selection and determination of sample size were based on the marine census data of selected FLCs, which are available at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI). The required minimum sample size for the study region was estimated across the NM, MR and MC sectors in order to obtain a 95% confidence level using the formula derived by Yamane. ³⁷ It is noted that the present study focused on the ITK/MFA utilised by the fishers in the NM and MR sectors only and, hence, the sample size derived from the NM and MR sectors of 14 FLCs was considered for the analysis.

Figure 2.

Methods of survey and associated data analysis were adopted for the present study in Odisha.

Table 1.

Characteristics of the Qualitative Datasets Used in the Present Investigation Across the Different FLCs Supporting Marine Fisheries.

Parameter	Description of data from responses of fishers	Significance for the present work
Age	15–60 years	Moderate
Gender	Predominantly males as numbers of female fishers was negligible or absent at all the surveyed FLCs	Low
Levels of education	Primary or secondary level of education; higher education absent or negligible	Low
Household type	Owned households with maximum of two rooms and a toilet with mostly a sheeted roof structure, with 3–5 occupants	Low
Nativity statuses	Fishers consisted of both Odia natives and migrants from West Bengal (Bengali) and Andhra Pradesh (Telugu)	Moderate
Ownership status of crafts and gears	Owners of NM = owned by one or two fishers who take part in fishing expeditions Owners of MR = owned or ran on a partnership basis with others who may or may not take part in fishing expeditions Operators only, NM = 2 fishers per NM craft Operators only, MR = 5 to 6 fishers per MR craft	Moderate
Fishing experience (in years)	NM fishers: 10–30 years MR fishers: 10–20 years	High
Distance from the coast for fishing	NM craft: up to 5 km MR craft: up to 15 km	High
Levels of ITK usage	NM: high to moderate MR: low to moderate	High
Levels of MFA usage	NM: low to moderate MR: moderate to high	High

Semi-structured interviews on the use of ITK were also conducted among the presidents/secretaries of marine fishery associations/co-operative societies associated with the FLCs, wherever they were operational, and marine fishery officials from both the state government and central government across all six coastal districts in Odisha. While, the fishery society was available in each FLC, the state marine fishery offices were located in Balasore (for Balasore and Bhadrak districts), Kujang (for Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts), Puri (for Puri district) and Chatrapur (for Ganjam district). The Puri Field Centre of ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CMFRI), Government of India, was also visited during the survey. A semi-structured interview methodology was selected for adopting an open thematic framework, where questions are not set in a phrasing or in a way that allows the investigator to have two-way communication. ³⁸ The inputs from one-to-one questionnaire survey were primarily utilised for the quantitative data analysis, while both FGDs and semi-structured interviews, along with one-to-one survey data, and were extracted for the analysis of qualitative data as represented in Figure 2.

It is noted that the NM and MR craft fishers considered for the present study mostly utilised a combination of their past fishing experiences and traditional knowledge for fishing near the shore rather than being dependent on the modern technology (e.g., MFAs) or fishing-aids (e.g., GPS, compass, etc.). On the other hand, the MC craft fishers observed had the ability to go far into the sea and could utilise MFA exclusively for fishing. It was also observed that the NM and small MR fishers were able to utilise MFAs well if they were forecasted within 5 to 15 km from the coast. As regards the timing of the fishing operations, the MR and NM craft fishers usually engaged in daily fishing in the early hours of the day based on the tidal activity (~2 AM to 7 AM) in the near-shore environment.

Statistical Analyses

The data collected through one-to-one questionnaire survey from the fishers were subjected to different sets of statistical analyses and a correlation matrix, and a non-parametric test statistic in the form of Kruskal–Wallis rank sum was derived to understand the impacts of the use of the different PFZ knowledge products (ITK, ITK with MFA or MFA). First, the net profits of the fishers using exclusively ITK, MFA and both (ITK + MFA) were correlated across the two categories of fishers – NM and MR craft fishers to understand the efficiency of the utilisation of MFA on ITK. A correlation matrix was constructed with the NM and MR crafts fishers using ITK, MFA and ITK + MFA as the independent variables, considering the total operational cost, total income and total net profits as dependent variables to understand which user group(s) is(are) highly correlated with the income/profit of fishers.

Net profits were calculated by subtracting the total operational cost from the total income in each trip (expressed in equation (1)). The income of the fishers is directly related to the catch size based on the usage of ITK, MFA or ITK + MFA. The operational costs per trip included labour costs, diesel costs (for MR crafts; depending on the distance covered), food costs, etc.

$$Netprofit=Totalincome-Totaloperationalcost$$

(1)

In order to determine which of the individual usage scenarios resulted in the maximum net profits, non-parametric testing in the form of the Kruskal–Wallis test (K–W test; expressed as “H” in equation (2)) was performed on the different fisher categories, whose distributions did not follow the normal distribution. The Kruskal–Wallis test is determined to be most useful when the data are not normally distributed, as well as when under the assumption of heterogeneity. These two factors are evident from the distribution of craft types (NM, MR) as well as the ranges of the crafts accessing the sea. This makes for a heterogeneous distribution. Hence, the K–W test was adopted as a non-parametric statistical method for the present study within a 5% significance level (alpha, α = .05) in order to understand whether there were differences in the net profits of NM and MR fishers across various PFZ identification groups (e.g., ITK, ITK + MFA and MFA users). Among these results, a p-value less than .05 (p < .05) denoted significant differences between the user groups, while a greater p-value (p > .05) suggested that there were no differences. Values closer to the α-value suggested highly significant statistical relationships between net profits and various PFZ identification methods. These tests were performed using the open-source statistical modelling platform R (version 3.6.2), using the routine (kruskal.test) for performing the K–W (online documentation of the Kruskal–Wallis Rank Sum Test: https://www.rdocumentation.org/packages/stats/versions/3.6.2/topics/kruskal.test; Accessed on 12/01/2021).

$$H=\frac{12}{N\left(N+1\right)}\sum \frac{{R^2}_i}{n_i}-3\left(N+1\right)$$

(2)

Where,

• N is the total number, n_i is the number in the i-th group,

• R_i is the total sum of ranks in the i-th group.

The value of H was tested against the Chi-square distribution for (k − 1) degrees of freedom, where k is the number of groups considered.

Results and Discussions

Analyses of the Sample Set

The NM and MR craft fishers surveyed for the present study were analysed and found that the mean users of ITK for identifying PFZs was around 4 with a standard deviation (SD) of ±3 across the selected FLCs in Odisha while the mean value was 2.5 with an SD of ±2 for ITK + MFA users, and in the case of MFA users, the mean was ~1.5 and the SD was ±2. It is noted that ITK users were found in the highest numbers at Kharinasi (n = 10), along with ITK + MFA users (n = 6). At Chandrabhaga, the highest numbers of MFA users (n = 8) were recorded during the survey. Figure 3 shows the FLC-wise distribution of NM and MR craft fishers surveyed for the present study on the ITK among marine fishers. During the survey, no NM fishing craft was found in the FLCs of Balaramgadi, Panchubisa, Chudamani, Kasia and Satapada, while the rest of the FLCs consisted of both NM and MR crafts. It is interesting to note that the MR crafts in Markondi and Ramayapatna (Ganjam district) were being operated on a partnership basis between the owners and operators of these crafts, as observed during the survey. From the demographic data collected, it was observed that more than 90% of the surveyed marine fishers belonged to the Hindu religion in Odisha, while a few fishers were Christians and/or Muslims. The distribution of caste across NM and MR craft fishers was also analysed (Figure 4), and it was found that 35% of NM craft fishers identified themselves as belonging to the categories perceived to be economically and socially disadvantaged groups – the Schedule caste (SC). The rest identified themselves as belonging to other backward communities (OBC; 33%) and unreserved (UR; 32%) categories. In a different scenario, about 59% of the MR craft fishers surveyed belonged to OBC, followed by UR (25%), with fewer numbers identifying with the SC category (16%). It is noted that religion/caste-driven hierarchy in society plays a vital role in accessing modern technology for fishing. ³⁹ The sample size of the NM and MR fishers in each FLC was formulated based on the operational crafts in Odisha to arrive at a representative population for the current study. However, based on the socio-economic profiles, it is to be noted that the fishers represent a variety of non-uniform population sets across all the FLCs.

Figure 3.

Distribution of craft-wise owners who were surveyed across the different districts and fish landing centres of Odisha to understand their dependency on indigenous and traditional knowledge (ITK) as well as Marine Fishery Advisories (MFAs) for locating potential fishing zones during the 2021–2022 period.

Figure 4.

Distribution of caste, for example, unreserved (UR), other backward communities (OBC) and schedule caste (SC) across (a) non-motorised (NM) and (b) motorised (MR) craft fishers surveyed in 14 FLCs in Odisha during the 2021–2022 period.

Indigenous Knowledge Versus the Use of Modern Technology

The majority of the marine fishers in Odisha, belonging to the small FLCs, depended on their past experience along with ITK for fishing expeditions in the open sea. However, ITK varied from FLC to FLC and between the northern and southern parts of Odisha (as represented and described in Figure 5 and Table 2, respectively), while some similarities were also observed. For example, the colour of water played a very crucial role in order to detect fish shoals in the open sea. Fishers reported that blue, yellow, red and muddy colours of seawater might be favourable for the aggregation of fish. Hence, these colours were used as indicators of fish accumulation, particularly for FLCs such as Udaypur, Talsari, Hanskara, Balaramgadi (Chandipur) and Panchubisa located in the northern part of Odisha. The marine fishers from northern Odisha were also dependent on the aggregation of birds, frogs, insects and crabs in order to capture fish and also to determine whether the weather is favourable for venturing into the sea or not. For example, the presence of birds (e.g., sea-goose (locally called “Samudra Hansa”), Cormorants (locally called “Black bird”), seagull (locally called “Phiri bird” or “Thara bird”), etc.) and other living creatures (e.g., sea frogs, insects, etc.) indicated a high accumulation of marine fishes (their preys), while the busy activities of red crabs in the coastal sea indicated the emergence of storm surges as reported by the fishers. These fishers also followed the appearance of bubbles, informally referred to as “bubble breaking”, in the sea water to denote a high concentration of fish. The presence of fish shoals often creates bubble breaking in the seawater in order to help maintain their respiratory systems, a phenomenon that is also used as traditional knowledge for determining the presence of fish during fishing. The presence of sharks was also very significant for fishers, as sharks were found to be available nearer to shoals of fish.

Figure 5.

Schematic representation of various factors that influence the indigenous and traditional knowledge (ITK) systems of the marine fishers in Odisha with respect to identification of the fish accumulation zones in the open sea.

Table 2.

Descriptions of Various Kinds of Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge (ITK) Utilised by the Marine Fishing Community Across the FLCs in Odisha for the Identification of Fish Accumulation Zones in the Open Sea.

Native practices that contribute to PFZ identification and/or preservation of stocks	Description of the techniques as observed from ground-based surveys	Associated FLCs where the practices were observed
Colour and bubble breaking of seawater	A combination of in situ, visual interpretation of the surface water colours (e.g., blue, yellow, reddish and muddy water colours) and the appearance of bubbles on the surface as indicators of fish aggregation in the sea. The knowledge has been passed down to fishers through generations through observational ground-truthing.	Udaypur, Talsari, Hanskara, Balaramgadi (Chandipur) and Panchubisa
Aggregation of creatures	Aggregation of birds and observations of specific insects on the surface of the water at the same time as indicators of high fish accumulation. The presence and abundance of red crabs on the beach that release their eggs into the sea through their burrows just before the onset of the monsoon rains were used to indicate the intensities of rainfall and expected storm surges. These observations helped them to understand the non-intrusive routes in the sea for venturing towards the PFZ.	Udaypur, Talsari, Hanskara, Balaramgadi (Chandipur) and Panchubisa
Location of sun/stars	The locations of the Sun and other stars were used to reach the traditional fishing grounds, which indicates the time window for the availability of abundance of fishes.	Chandrabhaga, Penthakata and Satapada
Planning fishing expeditions as per the lunar calendar	Fishers usually began fishing expeditions on “Dashami” (10th lunar day) and “Ekadashi” (11th lunar day) of the fortnight as they believe that on these days specifically, the fish accumulation is higher due to the higher tides and better circulation of nutrients. Further, the fishers mentioned that fishing on these days provided the opportunity for the least disturbance of sea due to less effort and time invested in the fishing zone identification. Planning by the lunar calendar is referred to as the most effective to ensure stock replenishment in annual time scales as well as stock diversification in decadal time scales.	Kharinasi
Bamboo sticks	Using bamboo sticks, fishers tried to understand the presence of fish shoals and capture their in situ presence accordingly (as shown in Figure 6). In the presence of fishes, vibrations are transmitted through the bamboo stick, which the fishers use to locate the fish shoals. The fishers also found this an effective method to prevent bycatches of unintended species, as per the season in which the fishing was carried out.	Noliasahi
Underwater cameras	Fishers use underwater cameras installed in their traditional fishing boats to locate the fish shoals by visual interpretations using the images captured through the cameras (Figure 7).	Markondi and Ramayapatna
Protection of turtle nesting sites and egg nests	Traditional knowledge combined with cultural conditioning (venerated as an avatar of the Hindu God, “Vishnu”) prevents native fishers from disturbing the turtles and also enforces them for the non-harvesting and non-consumption of turtle eggs or meat legally.	Kharinasi
Flat-bottom boats	Indigenously designed boats are operated in shallow water, mangroves and microtidal environments with clear water where the fish are identified through visual interpretations in clear water zones. The traditional design ensures that the fish shoals are not disturbed during hook and line operations, harpooning, etc.	Satapada

On the other side, fishers in southern Odisha belonging to the FLCs such as Chandrabhaga, Penthakata, Satpara, etc., were dependent on the location of the Sun and other stars (e.g., Pole star) for carrying out their fishing activities, while fishers from Kharinasi (located in the Kendrapara district) reported that they mainly depended on selecting specific auspicious days in a fortnight for fishing when fish availability was high in the sea. For instance, fishers chose certain days earmarked as per the Hindu calendar as “Dashami” (10th lunar day) and “Ekadashi” (11th lunar day) of the fortnight as days associated with relatively high fish capture. Moreover, the location of stars helps fishers in navigation to reach their TFZs in the early morning and also return to the FLC.

Interestingly, during ground surveys, fishers from FLCs, that is, Talsari, Balaramgadi, Chudamani, Kasia, etc., were observed to possess high numbers of MR and MC fishing crafts, making them able to reach PFZ areas as determined in MFAs. Despite this technological advancement, these fishers also did not utilise PFZ advisories for detecting fish shoals and primarily depended either on the above-mentioned traditional methods or performed casual fishing practices (trial and error) based on their past experience and/or advice from the other fishers through wireless means to reach the fish accumulation zones in the open sea.

Figure 5 illustrates the ITK techniques adopted mainly through a visual interpretation by the marine fishers of Odisha to identify the PFZ locations. While these techniques are considered useful pointers to the PFZs for the trained eyes, other indicators of fish accumulation, such as favourable temperature and current patterns of sea water, are often interpreted by the fishers by observing the seashore conditions closely related to the migratory activities of fauna such as sand bubbler crabs and ghost crabs. For example, the documented activities of these crabs that consume organic debris in the sand, leaving behind sand bubbles as visual indicators (sand bubblers), or that build J-shaped burrows in the shore sand opening towards the sea prior to monsoons (red ghost crabs) informed the fishers about the status of the approach of the monsoons or storms. The fishers further correlated the intensities of the activities of the crabs, which are biologically induced to release eggs into the sea at the correct windows of high wave action (to carry them into the sea), with the intensities of storms. Further, they interpreted the movement of the fish shoals in the open sea in response to the changes in sea surface temperature (Table 2). The use of crabs as sentinels for changes in wave and wind directions is supported by actual scientific investigations. ⁴⁰

In the case of the Noliasahi FLC, located in the Jagatsinghpur district, a unique technique of ITK was found during the ground survey, which is the usage of bamboo sticks for fishing (Figure 6). As per the observations at ground levels, fishers inserted a standard-size bamboo stick, that is, ~3 m, in the sea water in areas that they found to possess the potential for the existence of fish shoals and tried to experience the sounds from the vibration of the bamboo. If the fish shoals really exist in this location, then the bamboo produces a special sound due to the movement/vibration of the fish shoals under the water. Based on this, fishers cast their nets in specific zones to obtain a substantial yield of fishes and repeat the procedure until they catch the required number of fishes.

Figure 6.

Representation of the indigenous technology for locating fish shoals at (A) fish aggregation zones through the use of (B) bamboo sticks during fishing expeditions by marine fishers in Noliasahi, Odisha.

In the southern Odisha district, namely, Ganjam, underwater cameras were observed to be attached to the bottom part of the small motorised crafts for detecting the fish shoals and catching them accordingly. In Markondi and Ramayapatna FLCs (in Ganjam), fishers used such arrangements to catch fish using the view of the underwater camera on a monitor temporarily installed on the floor of the crafts (Figure 7). The scanning was performed until the fish shoals were identified in the vicinity of the craft; instantly, fishers cast their net and captured many fish. The same procedure was repeated several times until a sufficient catch was obtained. Fishers uninstalled the whole set-up (scanner and display) once it returned to the FLC and followed the same procedure during fishing expeditions only. It is interesting to note that the on-board electricity is powered by the engine installed in the MR crafts. It is needless to mention that wind direction and wave height play a significant role in the presence and migration of marine fish; therefore, traditional fishers also followed the wave height and wind direction in order to capture many fish.

Figure 7.

Photograph of the underwater camera technology attached to small motorised (MR) crafts in Markondi fish landing centre, Odisha, as an improvised technology to detect fish accumulation zones.

Analyses of Combined Utilisation of ITK and MFA

It is interesting to note the differences in the usage of ITK, MFA, or a combination of both among the fishers belonging to the different FLCs surveyed (Figure 8). As observed at three FLCs, namely, Udaypur, Talsari and Hanskara, the identification of the PFZs was through ITK methods exclusively. In contrast, at Chandrabhaga, the reliance on scientifically derived MFAs was the highest, with the least importance given to ITK methods. However, equal users of ITK and ITK + MFA for fishing were observed in Ramayapatna, while exclusively MFA users were also found along with ITK and ITK + MFA at other FLCs in Odisha. These imply that approximately 14% of fishers used MFA exclusively, while approximately 21% of them used ITK + MFA out of the total fishers surveyed in Odisha. It is worth mentioning that the accuracy of satellite-derived sea surface temperature and chlorophyll – a concentrations is erroneously based on which MFA is generated. ⁴¹ Hence, the availability of MFAs near the coastline, that is, within 5–15 km, may be found to be rare compared to the deep sea in the northern BoB region as observed from the daily PFZ advisories provided by INCOIS. Moreover, due to the “no fishing zones” in a few ecosensitive coastal areas, advisories have not been disseminated over these regions.

Figure 8.

Percentages of fishers using ITK alone (ITK for PFZ), a combination of ITK and MFA (ITK + MFA for PFZ) as well as MFA only (MFA for PFZ) to identify the potential fishing zones (PFZs) in the open sea at different fish landing centres across Odisha.

A similar trend was observed at the Penthakata FLC, like Chandrabhaga, where reliance on MFA was higher than that of ITK as described above. However, a combination of both ITK and MFA seems to be acceptable to varying degrees in the other FLCs. In FLCs such as Balaramgadi, Chudamani and Markondi, the combination of ITK and MFA for PFZ identification was found to be predominant compared to either the sole use of ITK or MFA alone. At the Panchubisa, Kasia, Kharinasi, Satapada and Noliasahi FLCs, the use of ITK methods dominated over the use of MFAs or a combination of the two. At Ramayapatna, though a combination of the two (ITK + MFA) as well as the use of ITK methods were equally favoured, using MFAs alone was not favoured at all (Figure 8). Table 3 shows the correlation matrix of the usage, net incomes, operational costs and net profits of fishing with ITK, ITK + MFA and MFA usage, illustrating the trend discussed above.

Table 3.

Correlation Matrix of the Usage, Net Incomes, Operational Costs and Net Profits with ITK, ITK + MFA and MFA Utilisation.

Correlation matrix	ITK for PFZ	ITK + MFA for PFZ	MFA for PFZ	Net income NM	Net income MR	Operational cost NM	Operational cost MR	Net profit NM	Net profit MR
ITK for PFZ	1
ITK + MFA for PFZ	−0.063	1
MFA for PFZ	−0.249	0.730	1
Net income NM	−0.160	0.565	0.479	1
Net income MR	−0.120	0.728	0.522	0.674	1
Operational cost NM	−0.061	−0.092	0.055	0.504	0.082	1
Operational cost MR	−0.306	−0.008	−0.225	0.087	0.370	−0.136	1
Net profit NM	−0.162	0.610	0.501	0.994	0.703	0.405	0.110	1
Net profit MR	0.048	0.776	0.682	0.664	0.848	0.164	−0.179	0.682	1

In order to assess the influence of MFA on the existing ITK used for fishing, the average net profit per trip of the fishers using ITK, ITK + MFA and MFA across NM and MR crafts was considered for the present investigation. It was observed that net profit (used inputs: total income and total operational costs per trip) varied among the users of ITK, ITK + MFA and MFA. As reflected by the correlation matrix, net profits were recorded as higher in the case of both NM craft fishers (r = ~.61) and MR craft fishers (r = ~.78) utilising combined ITK and MFA compared to ITK (r = ~.16 for NM and r = ~.05 for MR) and MFA (r = ~.50 for NM and r = ~.68 for MR) alone. Therefore, it is noted that the combined utilisation of ITK and MFA was more profitable for both the NM and MR sectors compared to the utilisation of ITK and MFA alone, which further supports STS theory. Apart from a matrix of correlation between the usage versus PFZ knowledge products, a non-parametric statistical analysis in the form of a K–W test (Figure 9) was also performed to understand whether the combined use of both ITK and MFA (ITK + MFA) is useful for the fishers or not.

Figure 9.

Comparison of the scenarios of net profits of motorised (MR) and non-motorised (NM) craft fishers of Odisha attributed to the different usage of PFZ knowledge products, that is, (a, b) ITK alone, (c, d) a combination of ITK-MFA and (e, f) MFA exclusively derived using Kruskal–Wallis Rank Sum Test and post hoc significance testing. (a, c, e) The results pertaining to the usage among NM fishers. (b, d, f) The results of the K–W test for MR fishers.

A comparison of the net profits of the MR and NM craft fishers with the different modes of PFZ identification illustrates interesting results, as shown in Figure 9 through the K–W test. The results of the test indicate that for all usage scenarios, the p-values were greater than .05, indicating the null hypothesis, which considers the increase in net profits with the single or combined use of PFZ knowledge products, holds true. Significant differences in the median values of net profits obtained by the use of ITK products among both NM and MR fishers (highly significant and significant, respectively) seem to indicate the higher reliability of ITK compared to the usage scenarios of ITK + MFA or MFA alone (Figure 9a and b). In the case of a combined usage scenario for NM and MR (Figure 9c and d), the increase in the net profits was not significant, especially in the case of MR, indicating that the use of MFAs alongside ITK may not enhance the net profits in the present case. On the other hand, interestingly, the results shown in Figure 9e and f indicate that the use of MFAs alone also did not enhance the net profits among NM and MR fishers, clearly highlighting that these PFZ knowledge products are useful for the MC fishing crafts (not so much for NM and small MR fishing crafts) alone at present. ⁴² The current results highlight the scope for assessing and neutralising any socio-technical constraints at a ground level to increase the positive perception of the use of modern technology products as well as to optimise the usage scenarios at a ground level. ⁴³

Thus, the present investigation indicates that there is a possibility to improve the MFA usage for NM fishers, although the number of NM fishers using the MFA sampled here is lower. At a ground level, it is usually observed that due to their narrow range of fishing very close to the coast (~0–5 km) or river mouth, NM fishers are either not aware of, or do not use, the MFAs, being irrelevant to locate PFZs, which presents a huge socio-technical constraint in adopting the PFZ method of locating fishing zones as indicated by the present study. However, the availability of the MFAs to these fishers through mobile phones (although on an irregular basis) probably provided them with an idea of the direction in which the PFZ is predicted to be present in the sea, further away from the coast. This observation also illustrates that although the PFZ is produced in the form of high lines of the probability of locating fish shoals, the actual PFZ area could be much larger, beginning close to the coast and extending to the regions in the sea where the actual PFZ is located scientifically (another constraint) as demarcated in the MFA by INCOIS. NM fishers may, hence, be able to access the outer edges of the area for fishing using their ITK while not venturing further into the deep sea.

The present investigation provides the ground-level scenarios of various kinds of ITK used by the marine fishers in different FLCs in Odisha and the significance of the use of space-based technology, that is, MFAs, for sustainable fishing and the livelihood of the fishers. The integration of ITK and modern technologies in the preservation of coastal and marine ecosystems through fisheries management and conservation has been proven crucial at the local and regional scales. ⁴⁴ The optimisation of vessel traffic contributes to the preservation of the ecosystem services of the marine environment. Similarly, Alexander et al., ⁴⁵ reported the fruitfulness of combining ITK and science-based modern technology in order to monitor and manage coastal and marine ecosystems. In this context, Wheeler et al., ⁴⁶ described and examined the combined need for indigenous knowledge and science-based technology for environmental decision-making, further determining how marine ecosystem services are delivered in the long term. Ban et al., ⁴⁷ concluded that the integration of indigenous knowledge and scientific research is very crucial for the management and conservation of locally relevant marine fisheries. Along with sustainable marine resource management, the integration of indigenous knowledge and modern technology can be beneficial for coastal disaster risk reduction. ⁴⁸ In light of the integration of ITK and modern science-based technologies, Sahadevan ⁴⁹ reported that traditional fishing practices were crucial for sustainable marine fishery resources management; however, hybrid management systems comprising both ITK and modern technologies have great potential for the same by providing long-term fishery stock assessments and utilisation, local-level knowledge on the ecology and behaviour, habitat conditions of a particular marine species as well as a customary management system. Finally, from the perspective of strong marine policymaking, the crucial roles of optimising and managing the fishing fleet in contributing to the circular blue economy have been highlighted for ecosystem services preservation.

With particular reference to the ground surveys in the FLCs described in the current study, the fact that the MFAs were not being received by the fishers at regular intervals is in itself a huge constraining factor in regulating the preservation of the provisioning and regulation of the services of the marine environment. Supplementing the ecosystem services preservation framework by enhancing coastal infrastructural facilities, such as the availability of pucca jetty, smartphones and modern MC crafts with the exception of big fishing harbours (FHs) such as Paradip, Dhamara, etc., may prove useful in the long term. In the case of the reception of MFAs in some FLCs in irregular intervals, fishers reported that the notified PFZ areas as per MFAs were located far away from their original fishing grounds; hence, they were unable to follow the advisory for fishing. In this context, most of the marine fishers in Odisha are forced to rely on ITK for locating fishing grounds. Santhanam and Kundu ⁵⁰ highlighted these various socio-technical constraints of the marine fishers in Odisha in the reception and utilisation of MFAs, and the present investigation emphasises their application for preserving the marine ecosystem services.

From a qualitative analysis based on the present investigation, the fishers in Odisha agreed during the field survey that fishing using ITK alone may not be profitable at all times, as the ITK could not guarantee the location of abundant fish in their TFZs in present times, considering the effects of marine pollution and changes in the provisioning services attributed to climate change. Specifically, the fishers attributed the loss of ITK to the industrialisation of coastal and marine fishing, which caused heavy stock depletion in both nearshore and offshore environments. The operation of big trawlers from the bigger FLCs or FHs (e.g., Digha, Paradip, etc.), which exploited the traditional grounds, and the siltation of rivers creating difficult launch and docking conditions, as well as the stock reduction in shallow waters, etc., emerged as other reasons for the low turnover rates and yield rates from the TFZs. Often, fishing expeditions also become risky due to the emergence of adverse weather conditions especially under the circumstances in which advisories related to extreme weather events do not reach the fishers in time, as reported by the fishers. ⁵¹ Under this scenario, regular dissemination and effective usage of scientific PFZ advisories for fishing expeditions within an optimum distance from the landing centres can be useful methodologies to reduce the uncertainty, providing MR craft fishers with accurate locations of PFZs and NM craft fishers with a sense of direction of the PFZs in the open sea.

However, it is also very important to pay attention to the reach and search times of both MR and NM craft fishing so that fishers can easily access the PFZs or determine if they are available within their TFZs. Effective usage of PFZ advisories not only provides certainty among fishers for the capture of fishes, but can also prove effective in enhancing both economic and environmental scenarios related to the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) due to marine fishing. ⁵² The SCC is directly connected to diesel consumption and minimises carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions due to the reduction in search time to reach PFZ locations, which can be minimised through the combined use of both ITK and MFAs. It was reported by Tummala et al., ⁵³ that 1.66 billion litres of diesel can be saved in the marine fishery sector in India by using MFAs, and, hence, CO₂ emission can also be reduced by 4.37 million tonnes (saving 1 L of diesel can reduce 2.63 kg of CO₂ emissions. ⁵⁴ Similarly, a CO₂ emission of 0.27 Mt would be reduced due to the usage of MFAs in Odisha, meaning the sector can save INR 8.40 crores by 2025 and 12.94 crores by 2035 as SCC (base run social cost) as per the projections reported by Kavi Kumar et al. ⁵⁵ The direct and indirect benefits of the use of the combined methods are illustrated in Figure 10.

Figure 10.

Advantages of the combined usage of ITK and modern technology for the identification of the fish accumulation zones in the open sea in order to achieve sustainable fishing practices in Odisha.

Another co-benefit in the form of supplementing information of PFZs through ITK in the event of irregular or absent MFAs can be realised from mainstreaming the combined use of the methods after the removal of the socio-technical constraints that impede their effective usage (socio-technical constraints described in Santhanam and Kundu ⁵⁶ . In such cases, the evaluation of ITK and the costs of production and dissemination of the modern space-based advisories can provide useful data on the profitability of the combined advisories, which can equally benefit all categories of fishers in a regular manner and help them to reach the notified PFZ areas easily. Hence, ITK and MFAs for identifying PFZs can be treated as non-intrusive routes or windows, as these two are not dependent on each other, and fishing activities can be carried out using any of them. However, this would be beneficial if ITK and MFAs can be used together (ITK + MFA). The optimisation and regularisation of the activities of bigger fishing crafts (MC crafts and big MR crafts), fitted with powerful engines that are able to operate over several rounds in a day within the TFZ of SSFs, must be ensured to avoid the low turnover rates of NM or small MR crafts accessing the same space where low stock has been reported by them consistently since 2018 in Odisha. For this purpose, as well, the use of ITK along with modern technology for sustainable fishing practices may be fruitful for the livelihoods of the marine fishers in Odisha towards achieving SDG 14 (conservation and sustainable use of marine resources), especially SDG 14b (provide access for the SSFs to marine resources and markets) by 2030. ⁵⁷ In this way, using ITK + MFA is not only helpful to conserve marine fish through sustainable fishing but also the SSF community (NM and small MR craft fishers) will gain access to fishing in their TFZs and can secure their livelihoods.

Global examples of collaborative management models have illustrated the need for developing co-management policies that utilise the inputs from both traditional and modern methodologies to plan for sustainable co-production, preservation of ecosystem services and balancing of health challenges for and consumers. For example, the Heʻeia National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) and the Indigenous Community and Conserved Area (ICCA) have mainstreamed the inclusive principle of “operational reciprocal collaboration” with IPLC ⁵⁸ within the policies for the preservation of ESs. Similarly, the need for the representation of IPLCs as custodians of globally important migratory species through governance has been explored in the context of the ocean commons, Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ), which are important for the preservation of ESs ⁵⁹ ; Pacific salmon, Marine Turtles, Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses, Northern fur seal. Cruz ⁶⁰ also focused on the empowerment of local stakeholders for pursuing coastal and marine resource management towards human well-being. Such studies provide the impetus to plan for public participatory approaches. ⁶¹ for the beneficial co-utilisation of ITK and MFAs in the Indian context that will result in preserving the provisioning services of the marine ecosystems over longer periods of time. Specifically, for the state of Odisha, such combined-usage model can help to frame targeted policies for preserving both the provisioning ES of fisheries and the regulatory ES of the mangroves, sensitive river mouths, coastal lagoons and wetland areas of the state.

From the perspective of human health and well-being, the qualitative survey conducted at the ground level revealed the following:

• 1) The fishers, especially NM and MR, believe that the use of ITK, which involves travel through well-acquainted and tested routes, though less profitable, provides them with a sense of security. ITK-based fishing also promotes the overall safety of their operations compared to staying at sea for long periods in MC boats with many uncertain factors operating in the open sea conditions.

• 2) While MFAs emphasise providing scientifically accurate data on PFZs, ITK is perceived to be essential to plan socially responsible fishing operations, placing great emphasis on preserving the culture and tradition of the fishers at large.

• 3) The larger understanding and mutual acceptance of ITK methods, beliefs and practices among all fishers along the coast is considered to be a major factor in conflict resolution at a community level in terms of sharing both resources and profits. Thus, the adoption of ITK provides promising methods to build long-term stakeholder relationships that promote community harmony and well-being.

• 4) In the case of MFAs, differential skills in using MFAs for locating PFZs seem to create more scenarios of conflicts than cooperation among the fishers studied. However, MFAs have the advantage of providing scientific rationalisation for resource sharing from a broader perspective. Combining the advantages of ITK (tested approach to PFZs) and MFAs (reliability of PFZ data) can promote sustainable operations.

• 5) From the perspectives of sustainable production and consumption, ITK-based techniques provide the fishers (especially NM and small-MR) with the inherent and time-tested knowledge to assess and incorporate seasonality into fish captures. This helps them to avoid juvenile catches and capture of exotic species, which are present in abundance as bycatch in MC operations, fetching higher profits at the cost of uncertain health benefits for consumers.

• 6) Thus, the fishers strongly emphasised that ITK-based practices provided them with higher credibility among local consumers by giving them the opportunity to cater sustainably to their demand for healthy, safe fish and shell-fishes for consumption.

• 7) The combined use of ITK and MFAs as “New Technologies” has the ability to promote locavores at multiple levels and to create sustainable markets for small-scale fishers when the technical constraints are overcome, promoting the biological and financial well-being of the marine fishers.

Conclusions

The present investigation provides a strong background assessment and multiple benefits of the co-utilisation of ITK with MFAs for the identification of the PFZ areas in Odisha. The ground-level assessments show that the combination of new technology-based knowledge products with ITK has the capability to contribute to the sustainable management of the marine fisheries of the state. Focused group discussions and ground surveys with the fishers using NM and MR crafts for fishing indicated that while they preferred the use of traditional knowledge to identify the PFZs in the sea, the use of MFAs along with the ITK has the potential to enhance their probabilities of reaching these zones in lesser timeframes and to procure higher yields, which improve the net profits of their respective fishing enterprises. However, it is significant to note that the reception of MFAs on a daily basis is completely subject to the availability of free cloud satellite data in the case of India. Meanwhile, fishing using ITK has also become uncertain due to the low stock in the traditional fishing grounds. In this context, the following considerations may be useful to derive targeted policies for the sustainable development of fisheries using both ITK and MFAs:

1. A robust socio-economic framework to assess and evaluate the benefits of the use of ITK combined with modern technologies and fishing aids to preserve the ESs is necessary. The evaluation of these usage scenarios in supporting the local economy for small-scale fisheries must be performed to develop sustainable communities. Constraining the GDP enhancement by combining traditional and modern methodologies must be prioritised while calculating the value-addition to the enterprise. Such a methodology can be widely applied to similar zones along the coast of India to derive the benefits of the combined methodology to preserve both the provisioning ESs (in terms of fishery yields) and the regulatory services (e.g., lagoons, estuaries and mangroves, etc.).

2. An integrated valuation is also necessary to observe the overall developmental co-benefits attributed to the use of MFAs as well.

3. Making the combined advisories available to marine fishers regularly on digital and field platforms across all FLCs within optimum distances from the marine ecosystems will not only enhance the positive perception of technology, increase its usage among all the categories of fishers including those operating non-motorised, motorised (small and large) and MC crafts, but also enhance the preservation efforts of the ecosystem services.

4. Deriving and subsidising the use of native, ITK-based designs of crafts can be revived to enhance the navigability of the non-motorised/traditional crafts within eco-sensitive regions such as mangroves, marine sanctuaries, and turtle-nesting sites. This can be useful to preserve the regulatory ESs. The manufacture of these indigenous crafts can provide alternate livelihoods to artisanal craft makers, preserving both the natural and cultural capitals through this process.

The implementation challenges may be attributed to the recognition of the value of the combined technologies; however, this can be overcome with a focused policy approach that incentivises small-scale fishers to use the ITK + MFA approach, which is in line with the goals of SDG 14 and adds significantly to sustainable fishing efforts. Thus, this study provides the local and state administrators in Global South countries such as India with a key policy consideration to keep ITK-enabled fishing central to the well-being of fishers who are comfortable to accept the advantages as well as disadvantages of using traditionally proven fishing methods.

Such a move will build trust between the fishers, state actors and non-state actors, as well as ensure the marine fishers’ voluntary and active participation in adopting newer technologies such as MFAs. This comes with co-benefits of reducing risk to lives and property in the long run, building economic resilience. The same model may be emulated with acceptable degrees of contextualisation to maximise the co-benefits elsewhere, as illustrated by the present case.