f
"
\t 9)Socio - Econ(~mics of Small Scale Fishermen
with Emplh:asis on Costs and Earnings ofTrad1 tional Fishing Units Along
Tri' .J'andrum Coast, I{erala-A Case Study
"R. ',ATHIADHASand K. K. P. PANIKKARCeo "II Marine Fish~rie:> Resoarch Institute. Cochin-31
S OCio-economic parU'<1eters such asfamily size, age ~.TUcture, customs,
boliols and habits, ompll.yment potentialsand och.cation and Ii\'. .lg standards offishormen influonce thet' response to newtechnolooy and their participation indevelopmental scheme!;, Studies on thesevariablos attempt not Oi'.~yto explain theoverall socio-economk' condition of thefishermen but also idtrntify the factorsconstraininG the realisat'"n of full poten-tial of traditional fish. ,'( and the appro-priLito iJrea lor governlT'lI!lt intervention.
Tho Central Marine :isheries ResearchInstitute 11<Isbeen cor, ii1uously monito-ring tho socio-econor, ic aspects of theartisanal fishery see!. (. A number ofmicro-level studies ha"B been conductedto examine the socio-o ..\)Oomic stiJtus ofthe soctor, to analyses (IICdetails of costsand earnings of differr.'']I fishing techni-ques and systems in'.idfereqt locations,to Identify the major s, cia-oconomic con-strainls and botttone, (.s for the fisherydevelopment and to a~;;ess.the impact ofintroduction of new innovations and
Novemuer 1988
improved techniques on traciitional fishery.Such studies have mostly been conductedin select'Jd marine fish in 1 villages ofdifferent maritime states. The presentstudy was conducted in Poonthura, amajor fishing village in Trivandrum districtof KeraJa State.
DATA ANI) METHODOLOGY
A preliminary investig&lion was car-ried out in Trivandrum coast extendingfrom Kolloncode (south) te..Kappil (norlh)during June-July 1985. Fis.hing activitiesin many of tho landing centres in thisregion romain suspended during the mon-soon months (June to August) as thetraditional fishermen find it difficult tolaunch their catamarans through thebreakers. Poonthura, located 5 Kms fromTrivandrum is one of thi:! few landingcentres ;n this region where fishing iscarried out throughout d,e' year. Sincethis village is also a tY!Jical traditionalfishing centre supplying considerablequantity of fish to the n0iHby markets, ithas been selected for detailed socio-economic survey.
21
A household survey was carried out
in Poonithura fishing village duringAugust 1985. There are about 1400households in this village. All the fisher-men households near the shore were
covered in the survey. Information per-
taining to size of family, educational
status, housing and occupational pattern
ownership of means of production, invest-ment on fishing equipments, househoid
income and expenditure pattern, indeb-
tedness, source of credit, utilization ofcredit and extent of infrastructure facilities
available was collected through the
household schedule. To study the econo-
mics of operation of different types of
traditional fishing units, cost and earning
data have been collected from sample
units of each catamarans operating gill-
nets, hooks and lines and plank built
canoes fitted with OBM operating gill nets.
Two types of schedules were used
for cost and earning study-one for collec-
ting fixed cost details of the selected units
3nd the other for collecting daily opera-
tional costs and returns at the landing
centre by direct observation. Local enu-
merators were entrusted the work of data
collection under the supervision of the
project leader. The operational costs and
earnings data for the selected units were
collected for continuous ten days in each
month from September 1985 to August1986. The costs and returns data were
ana lysed separately for three district
fishing seasons of the period 1985-86 viz.
as premonsoon (February-May), monsoon
(June-August) and post-monsoon (Sept.-
January).
22
RESULTSAND DISCUSSION
I. Socio-economics:Poonthura fishing village is well
connected by road and frequent busservices are available from Trivandrum.
There is a Catholic church and 2 highschools located in this village. The publicfacilities like bank, post office, policestation. primary health centre, private
dispensiHie;., Mats'{aferi, "1mket hou!'ingsociety and drinking water taps are avai -
able within the village. An ice plant of
10 tonnes capacity is also located at thiscentre.
J
The average size 01 a fisherman familyin Poonthura is 6.3. About 69 per cent ofth& families are living in huts. The literacy
rate of fishermen is 46 per cent and amongthe literates 89 per cent have only primary
education. The earning members anddependents are in the ratio of 1:3 in the
village. About 36 per cent of the people
come under the category of workingpopulation of which 29 per cent is women,
engaged mainly in net making/repairingand fish processing. About 64 per ~entof the workers are active fishermen,
Among the active fishermen 62 per centare owner operators. 4 per cent non-oper-
ating owners and the rest are wage-earners.
In Poonthura, 66 per cent of fisher-
men households have ownership of means
of production. The ownership pattern of
fishing equipments is given in Table 1.About 44 per cent of the owners haveeither catamaran or canoe with only one
type of net and 32 per cent have samewith two type of nets. Almost 17 per centof them have three or more type of nets
along with catamarans or canoes.
Seafood Export Journal
Tho investment par' .'.m on fishingoquipmonts is given in r)ble 2. About28 por cont of the fishe.! ,Ien householdshavinu ownorship on me; ISof productioninvested less than rls. :~OOOl- towurds
fishinU implements. Th;' capital invest-men! is in the range (I Rs. 3001 J- to5000/- for 17 per cent Rs. 5001/- to7000/- for 14 per Co,'! Rs. 7001 to
10000j- for 11 per cen:. Rs. 10001/- to15000r. for 8 per cent, Rs. 150011- to20000(- for 7 per cent and above Rs.20000,1- for about 15 pel cent. 'The studyreveals that 70 per cer,' of the owners
hav13 invested less tha'; Rs. 10000/- forfishing equipments.
Novembor 1988
Table 2
Familywise break up of capitiJl investmenton fishing equipments.
Capital inv"",I",,,"1 (Hs) No.ol per cent',,'mlles
Less than Rs. 3000 G2 283001 -5000 37 175001 -7000 30 147001-10000 :4 1110001-15000 17 815001 -20000 15 720001-30000 13 630001-40000 12 5Above 40000 9 4
Total 19 100-23
The average annual income of afisherman I-:ousehold in Poonthura worksout at Rs. 11063/., the per capita incomebeing Rs. 1756/-. Active fishing is themajor occupation for about 97 per cent ofthe fishermen households. Out of these
active fishermen, 35 per cent are wage
earners who do not possess any fishing
equipments. The classification of fisher-men families based on major occupationand annual income is given Tal.>le-3.
Classification of fishermen families based on major occupation and annual income
Table.-3
Incomegroup (Ps)
Owners of
canoe/cata-marans
Less than Rs. 3000/-
3001 - 5000
5001-7000
7001-9000
9001-12000
12001 -1 5000
15001 - 20000
Above 20000
3
17
32
63
51
35
18
Total 219 102 8 331
Among the owners of canoe andcatamarans maximum number earns anincome in the range of Rs. 9000 to 20000/-per annum and among the wage earnersmaximum is in the income range of 7000to 12000/-. The average annual incomeof the owner operat0rs is Rs. 12185/ '
wage earners Rs. 9130/- and familiesengaged in fishery related activities Rs.8200:-. About 50 per cent of fishermenfamilies in Poonthura are in debt. Thetotal outstanding debt of these fishermenfamilies works out at 14.5 lakhs and perindebted household Rs. 9022/-. Thesources of credit to these fishermen aremoney lenders, _ boat owners and fishtraders, commercial banks and coopera-
24
Wage Fishery related Others Totalearncrs
1
6
24
28
24
17
2
2
2
12
41
60
89
71
38
18
1
3
1
3
2
tive societies. Mony lenders are supplyingabout 65 per cent of the credit needs offishermen. The Institutional agencies likebanks and cooperative societies meet only23 per cent of the credit requirement.Some craft owners. also advance loans tofishermen on the condition that theyshould work only in the creditors' units.The loa nee have to return the entiremo'ney with interest if they want to leavethat unit. Usually craft owners take loansfrom fish traders on the condition thattheir catch will be sold only to thosetraders. In such case fish traders by thecatch at price fixed by them and recoverthe loan on instalments at the time oftransactions.
Seafood Export Journal
o
1--1 . "
IIII
~~
S
Th13 extont of cledit pplied by
d:i\C,iW1t "gen,:IPs to fish,:, (';:1 housf)-
hot<.i~ uf '.'ilrh.'Jus incomo 9'0 i '. 3t Poon-
tiltH;1 is ;jiven in Table ~ Maximumcrl;;l!,t I;, supplied by lTlon"y, ~JCI : to Ihe
Ifishermon hCliseholds o!
),:1 I.ICOmC
groups. The contribution 01 : )mmercialbanks i$ comparatively mor for higherincome !)rr}l/ps. The suppl\,' of credit by
b,lI~ks liing.:s from 2.5 p:r c ~i:t for those
...-....---SIIDpiy ,.")fcredit by .di"i";!(cnt agellci,,' to 'hhermcn of va iou'! inc~ome (, oups.
....---
-in the income ranb' 0, .,s ~';0C - GOOO,-to 24 per cent for tho:'.' f abov,:; Rs
200QO, <lnnual ir :omr-. "be role ofcooperative socilJties for p;o. .diny creditII' Poonthurrl ISj cornparali\,( y neagre.10W6VQr !till !1!;t1l:rmon hOUSE aids In the
income group of Rs. 5000.~ )0')/- havetaken maximum advantage of 1C cooper-Itive socioties.
Tablt- 4
SUP!!:,' 01 credi b,' diff~'()n( ag'" ies
BOd! O~v!hH~&
FIsh trad",',
1100(3.5)
10400
(2)
8500
('1)
5000
(3)
-----.-.1'0:;;1 :), '~:,25 /5('00
, -" '---'--" -- ---~-"Flqt;l !i In 1"lIC!..::', 1f1dH': P.'rc('n~;J';1e'3
TtH. pelCeii!i!~F l},d,zati()f) of creditfor differLnt purpo:;ns '. \/ivf'" in Tahir> 5.Tlh) IOiJrts td~:(~n for Pl.(haseam! Il:pcminq'J; fishing (!quiprnor.! construotion andn);",'jnlim,jO(;t; oJ Il(), c buildings <IodIJduc;:Jlion oft clilldrl . ore considered lor!11Jestrnt::ntpurposes. The amount taken
Novcr:1bcr 1988
h.JJ hold ..;xp,'nrli. III:, e ;>enditure1, II ;n,d rcliOiou' f r '; )nS,IC1nsi ( ;, t kinO ernplo" 1( m , I gult and
PI' '~)I:.;CP!ldPCOUS item~ t, consj(jpreri
fer con!..umption purpo~ :$, .' 'jout (;2 percent 0f 1110IO<Jn amoup is utilised for
invos\rncnt purpose of \<\'1ch 54°';; is for
25
lit,.,.....
InC:O:Th) Mor1i!'t'
.(1'011.1" l.;fHJ:1r
----3001--)OOO 253() :;
(84)
5001 ..7000 698(0
(60 j
7 \101 9000 44i ';0
(5', "
9000 1:>000 178:.':5
((;" )
1200'1 15000 3Se,j,UO
(' ,'". .'1
1 )(JO 1 20000 1 "f' ;00
(I .!)
Above 2000(1 10;:500
.0)
Co.opt ativ. TtdlSan '> SOC.!tis I'...tLt
_.. --- -- -.- ....---
'7 (' -- 30t ') j')100
(:..S) (1 G) (1101,
11 lor' 1500 1 1)50 1U505J
(11 ) (11 ) '). ) ( 100)
1120(. 121'JO 11)) 0 78550
(14) (' 5) ( I ( ) (100)
5950 1311 47850 299625
(2rJ,' (4 ) ( 16) (100)
1 01 ,JO '18('. ) ,'9600 527800
(" :) (3 '8) (100)
11 500 10000 'I c,350 24035017) (<1) L) (100)
L 1700 21 fa 171000
;24\ (1::,)), (100)
---------- --.-(81 1i1 65350 150"-'0 1L 52475
investment on fishing equipments leavingonly 8% for other purposes. The break upof credit requirement for consumptionand investment purposes by variousincome groups is given in Table 6. It isseen that lower tho income, higher is thepercentage of loan amount spent for consumption purposes and vice -versa. In thelower income group (less than Rs. 5000)credit is mainly used for householdexpenditure whereas for higher incomegroups (ubove Rs. 12.000) the diversion'.: -. .::-::'1"',.,:.~s ,,;j~i.., fJnc!lc,tlS esp'-claily marriages.
Table-5
Pattern of credit utilisation
PUTpose Percent utilisat,(",nof loans
Table-6
Proporation 0: utilisation of credit forconsumption and investment purposes by
various income groupsIncome group Consumption
%Investment
%less than Rs.30003001 - 5000
5001 - 70007001 - 90009001 - 1200012001- 1500015001- 20000Above 20000
65585752404030
35424348606070
26
The' average annual expenditure o'a fisherman family in Poonthura wor~~out at Rs. 10598/-, the per capita oxpen-diture being Rs. 16R2/-. The annuaexpenditure pattern towards various needsis given in Table 7. The expenditure or-food items alone works out at 78.5 percent of the family budget. Of the foodexpenditure about 10 per cent is spent byearning members on their personal oxpen-ses like consumption of lir-uor, tea and
Table--7
Average annual expenditure pattern of afisherman household in POOf1I!lura
SI.No.
Item Annual PHr centl'xpendill"" to toWI
II. Costs and returns of traditionalfishing units
For a catamaran unit operatinggillnet the average initial investment forthe logs comes about Rs.3000/- and forthe gillnets Rs. 5500/-. Tho purchasevalue of hooks and lines comes aboutRs.350/-. The initial investment on plankbuilt canoes fitted with OBM operatinggillnets averages Rs. 40800/-. In a cata-maran, normally 2 crew members go forthe operation of hooks and lines and 2 to5 go for the operation of gill nets. Mostof the fishermen operating catamarans
Seafood Export Journal
I. INVESTMENT
(i) Fishing equipments 54(ii) House construction/
repairing 7(iii) Education of children 1
II. CONSUMPTION
(i) Household expenditure(ii) Expenditurf: on social and
re:igious function 28(iii) For seekir:g
employmont in Gulf 8(iv) M iscella.,eous 1
1. Food 8318 78.5
2. Education 1025 10.03. Clothing 447 4.0
4. Medicine 247 25
5. Recreation 124 1.0
6. Social andreligious functions 269 2.5
5. Miscellaneous 168 1.5
Total 10598 100
leave the shore in ',he early morning atabout 5' 0 clock it d return between 2nnd f> P. M. In a pi, Tlk built canoe fittedwith OBM, 4 to ~\ persons go for the~Iillnet operations. " hey leave the shorebetween 5 to 7 P M. and return with
i
their catch in the next ;},W between 6 to9 A. M. With regard :0 wages the netincome over operating expenses is dividedinto throe shares. one. for the craft andgear and the other two for the labourerstwo ~e equally divided among themselves.
Table-8
SUilsonwiso )perational costs and earnings of a catamaran with hooks andlines in Poonthura (1985-86)
1(,,"" Post '1\Ol1soon I"e. monsoon
(Sept.-Jun.) (Feb.-MdY)
To!~1 Average Total Ave'agepor day per day-
I.
12.
3.4.5
Operdtional c: ::ts (Rs)Hcpair & OIDiwcnanceBa:a for r;rew
Wages to cle'~
Auction eharli .~>
Ottwr expens,;;
Totoll
648
555
6010246
65
5423
70
357
7816
11.1.
Calch (Q.kg) ; nd Revenue (V.Rs)
IV1ackerei '.':' 203 2J 987 9
CiHiingids .:1 1113 10V 5093 46
CU!I!efish Q 166 2oj 1036 9
Tuna () 154 1V 1036 10
PriH'Vn n 62 0.5V 476 4
Half beaks ..1 45 0.4V 158 1
Others Q 308 3V 1454 13
Total Latch Q 2051 19& return!; V 10240 92
2.
3
4.
r~,
6.~
7.
1. OPerlJtional ,:osts and earningsTho catarn.,nIl1S operatinn hooks and
linos Incur com 'nratively less operationaland fixed cost~ The break up of seasonwise operotion,;: costs, spedes-wise catch
November 19BJ.
402445
5161223335
6566
157845176
2142
891195
89852
23138469
355610038727
Monsoon Annual
(Ju;'e.,~utJ.) (Sept.-Aug.)
Totul 1.I<",'agc Total Averager--:>rday pf:r day
4
5
58
34
74
491
60111575
521
589
13783
43
214
605
5354
11281
298
89
18189
215
1541'607
22746990
1281
28165
66
8665
107
298
3715
213
1202114
164631
144
and earnings of a catamaran with hooksand lines in Poontl1ura is given in Table 9.The number of fishing days during Sept.1985 to August 1986 for these unitscomes about 26 The average opera-tional expenditur,) per day was Rs. 70/-
292
24
92460803
261746
253160
1300225
3855330
342034937164!J149
19069
113
110
0.325
401198
17
1341
4522292
20929851
2121289
4033531
3765183398
37164270
121748203
36036
27
in post-monsoon, Rs. 74:- in pre-monsoonand Rs. 215,- in monsoon seasons res-pectively. Tho remuneration to crew orlabour expenses alone accounts 77 to 84per cent of the operat iOllal costs fordifferent suasons. For an year as a wholethe averane vJriable cost per day or oper-ation work~ out <1tRs. 107. The averagecatch per day ;s 1Q kg in post-monsoon11 kg during pre-monsoon and 81 kgduring monsoon seasons. Mackerel, car.
angids, cuttlefish, tuna, prawns and halfbeaks aro the major species caught inthese units. The gross returns per dayduring the year works out at Rs. 144/-ranging from Rs. 92 '- per day duringpost-monsoon to Rs. 298/ - per day duringmonsoon. The net operating income perday works out at Rs. 37/- which is Rs.22/ in po~. ""',C0:cO'Jil,f\:c.,24/- . r-ic-monsoon and Rs. 83/- in monsoonseasons.
TalJle-9
Seasonwise operational costs and earnings of a catamaran withgillnets in poonthura (1985-86)
(Items
I. Operational costs (Rs)
1.2.3.4.5.
Repair and maintenanceBata for crewWages to crewAuction chargesOther expenses
Total
2. Tuna
3. Carangids
4. Prawns
5. Cuttle fish
6. Half beaks
7. Eels
8. White baits
9. Others
III. G~oss r~.t_urns
November 1988
Post monsoon Pre-monsoon
(Sep-Jan) (Feb-may)
Monsoon
(June-Aug)---" -----...
Annual
(Sept-Aug)
Total ave. Total ave. Total ave. Total aveper day per day per day per day
81110928741
351440
11 235
3121240139662526
2406239735
133871712970
14694
81082
34
107
622800
6024290401
8137
27162
11
3111950
2602766
6759823
276
II. Catch CO.kg)& Revenue (V-Rs)1. Mackerel 0 161
V 690o 101V 675o 154V 1115QVQVoVoVoVoVQVI
312165
2327
136829
140
1421350
115899
40160751
25731709
10572
o
79
6835
92
1087S68
18979695834
22563
422
33117
0.33
88330368
412122
1762.122235660
1980100825748064
1612366
198367
324010853 :
30977
2151
100.5
28
2920
119
1614
2751012
327
155
600.3
33
3210291537
117234
135
47,157449
25202860
3354413361675
41935
5602970729
7562243
1889235
2511972
3220128745868705
19428345
10932456
129841553256243
1011
12756
159
211
329
171
104
12517
337414
949,59..213
29
The plank built canoes fitted withoutboard motors (OBM) in Poonthuraoperated on an average 260 fishing daysduring September 1985 to August 1986.The seasonwise costs and earnings ofOBM gillnetters have been given inTable 11. The average variable cost perday of operation w:>rks ClJt at Rs. 291/-.The operating expenditure per day rangesfrom Rs. 172/- during the pre-monsoonseason to Rs. 364/- during the monsoonseason. The labour cost alone accountsfor 47 to 69 per cent of the variable costsfor different seasons. The wage share of5 crew members ranges from Rs. 82/- perday during pre-monsoon season toRs. 253/- per day during monsoon season.The fuel expenses per day ranges fromRs. 60/- during pre-monsoon season to
Rs.70/- during post-monsoon season,constituting ;35 per cent and 21 per centof the operating expenses in these sea-sons respectively. Mackerel. carangids,tuna, seer fish and eols am the majorvarieties caught in these units. Tho aver-age catch pc: dav daring the yoar (Sup,.'80 .0 Aug. '86) works out at 65 kg,which is 85 kg per day during p05t-mon-soon, 31 kg for pre-monsoon and 74 kgfor monsoon seasons. The gross returnsper day during the year worked out atRs. 385/- ranging from Rs. 202/- per dayduring pre-monsoon to Rs. 476/- per dayduring monsoon sea'sons. The not opera-ting income per day works out at Rs. 94/-;ranging from Rs. 30/- to Rs. 133 fordifferent seasans.
Table-11
Annual income and expenditure statement of traditional fishingunits in Poonthura (Sept. 1986. Aug. 1987)
Item Catamaran withhooks & lines
Catamaran withgillnets
Canoe fitted
with OBM
1. Initial investment (Rs)a) Craft
b) Gear (s)c) O~ B. M.
Total
2. Annual fixed cost (Rs.)
a) Interest for investment (15%)b) Depreciation
i) craftii) gear
iii) OBMTotal
3. Operational costs (Rs)4. Total costs (Rs) (2+3)5. Gross reV9nue (Rs)6. Net operating incQme (Rs)7. Net profit (5-3) (0-2)
3000350
3350
503
600175
1278
2816529443
3~98718593
32
"'-<..., .i'11.;'}OO}!JiJ'1'-~<"'~'"
riI
Compa(8tivo economic' -Annual incomeand expenditure
Tho annual incomL "and expenditure!itaternunt of tho threewpes of craft andgear combinations is ":iven in Table 12.Tho annual fixed cost in :Iudes the interestfor initial inviJstmont aw' de~reciation ofthe fishing units, Th., interest for theinitial investment is \\ Dtked out at therate of 15 per cant per 0; num. The depre-ciation of the fishir: J equipments isworked out under straight line method onthe basis of the expecte~ !ife. The avorageannual depreciation ;-s worked out at
Rs. 775/- for catamarans ofJerating hooksand lines, Rs. 1700/- for catamaransoperating gillnets aHd Ra. 6660/- forcanoes fitted with outboard motors. Theavcrage annual fixed GOf,! comes aboutRs. 1278/-, for catamaruns operatinghooks and lines, Rs. 2975/- ~orcatamaransoperating gillnets and Rs. 12780/- forcanoe fitted with OBM operating gill/driftnets. The depreciation of fishing equip-ments alone accounts about 61 per centof the annual fixed cost of catamaranswith hooks and lines. 57 per cent forcatamaransoperating gillncts and 52 percent for canoes fitted with OBM.
Table--12Key econon;,; indicators of traditional fishing units PoonthlJ'.-a
Item CDtllnlaran with Canoe fittedgillnets with OBM
Catamaran withhooks & lines
----
I.
II.
Input-output effici ,mcy
1) FIxed (atio 0.03 0.05 0.13L) Operating rat;( 0.74 0.75 0.753) Gross ratio 0.77 0.80 0.88
Capital efficiency1) Capital turno" i ratio 11.3 6.8 2.452) Rate of retur:, 10capital (%) 271 148 443) Pay buck peri j (years) 0.36 0.65 2.2
III. labuur officienc '/--1) Average prodL ;:!ion per
manday (kg) 15 15 132) Average vaJUI of production
per manday (, ':s) 72 53 773) Average wag{ s received
by a labour 43 32 37
IV. Break even point
1) Actual produ.:lion (kg) 8.2 15.5 16.82) Break even pr tilt of production 6.3 12.4 14.93) Break even C,;!;;t , 3.59 2.89 5.24
Average sellu<J pric (kg) 4.64 ' 3.62 5.94
V: Actual number of 'ishing days 264 263 260....-
November 1988 33
The annual total cost works out atRs. 29443/- for catamarans operatinghooks and lines. Rs. 44910/- for cata-marans opnrating 9illnets and Rs. 88283/.for canoes fitted with OBMS. The annualaverage catch of a catamaran unit opera-ting hooks and lines comes about 8.2tonnes realising a gross revenue ofRs. 38036. 1ne net profit of a single unitworks out at Rs. 8593/- per annum. Forcatamarans operating gillnets, the annua'average catch per unit cc;nes about 15.5tonnes. amounting to a gross revenueof Rs. 56243 and the net profit ofRs. 11333/-. A canoe fitted with OBMgets a catch of 16.8 tonnes and realizeRs. 100117 as gross revenue andRs. 11834/- as net profit.
Economic efficiency
T~)..;~:':PUl-outP~~relationship, capitaland labour efficiencies and break evenpoints for the three types of craft-gearcombinations were worked out and givenTab1F.l3.
Three type~ of input-output efficiencymeasures like fixed cost ratio, operatingcost ratio and gross cost ratio to the grossincome have been worked out. For eachone rupee earned the amount goingtowards fixed expenses was 3 paise forcatamarans with hooks and lines, 5 paisefor catamarans with gill nets and 13 paisefor canoes with OBMS and for operatingexpenses 74 paise for hooks and lines,75 paise each for gii!nets and OBM units.The gross expenses constitute 77%, 80~;and 88% of the gross income of these!hreo t~.'}a::, of i."-;it~ :-)5;.~~n"cl~/.
The capital turn over ratio explainsthe rate at which income is generated perrupee of capital invested. The ratioworked out at 11.3 for catamarans withhooks and lines, 6.6 for catamarans withgill nets and 2.45 for OBM units. Tho rate
34
of return to capital was fOIJndto be at271%, 148% and 44% tOi these threetypes of units respectively. As the aquisi-tion cost of 'capital was taken at 15%, theinvestment on all the three type of unitswas found to be profitable. The timelikely to take to recover the initial invest-ment is known as pay back period andderived out on dividing the initial invest-ment by net profit without consideringthe depreciation. The pay back period isabout 5 months for catamarans with hooksand lines, 8 months for catamarans withgillnets and 2.2 years for OBM units.
The average catch per man day worksout at 15 Kg each for catamarans opera-ting hooks & lines and 9illnots and 13 kgfor OBM units. The fishermen receivedmaximum wages of Rs. 43/- per opemt.ingday for operatirig ooo;",s a/ld lines in cata-marans foll0wed by Rs. 37/- for those inOBM units and Rs. 32f- for those incatamarans with gillnets.
The break even production on thebasis of catch composition and sellingprice of different varieties of fish caughtin each unit works out at 6.3 tonnesfor catamarans with hooks and lines 12.4tonlles for catamarans with gill nets and14.9 tonnes for OBM units; the actualcatch for these three type of units being8.2 tonnes, 15.5 tonnes and 16.8 tonnesrespectively. The break even price perkg of fish works out at Rs. 3.59 for cata-marans with hooks and lines. Rs. 2.89 forcatamarans with gill nets and Rs. 5.24 forOBM units. the actual price realised
tively.
CONCLUSION
The socio-economic survey indicatethat about 69 per cent of the fishermenfamilies in Poonthura live in huts. [iho
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fishermen households having ownershipon means I)f production constitute 66 percent of the total families and 70 per centof them have invested less than Rs.
10000/- for fishing equipments. Theaverage annual income of a family worksout at Rs. 11 063{- with a per capita in-come of Rs. 1756/-. For 97 per cent ofthe fishermen households. active fishing.. .:..;: .,"~, .:-.., __ _ ". I.~. ~~r' .."'t . ... . , _ ~ ._ _ ii\
of them are wage earners who do notpossess Clny fishing equipments. Theaverage annual income of the owneroperators is found to be Rs. 12185/-,wage earners Rs. 9130/- and !ho:;e infishery related activities Rs. 8200/-.About 50 per cent of fishermen familiesare in debt and the average outstandingdebt per indebted household works atRs. 9022.'-. Money lenders fullfill about65 per cent of the credit needs of fisher-men. About 62 per cent of the loanamount is uiilized for investment pur-poseS) In the lower income group (Jessthan Rs. 5000; -) the diversion of creditis mainiy tor household expenditure andfor higher income groups (above Rs.12000/ -) it is mainly towards socialfu"c!:~;jS U~pCC:C1n')' ino;ri8;;~:; T~'f; ':;V-3r-
age annual household expenditure perfisherman family works out at Rs. 10598/-
and 78.5 per cent of the expenses areincurred for food items.
With regard to the costs and returnsof traditional fishing units, the averageinitial investment of a catamaran unit
operating hooks and lines comes .aboutRs. 3350/- a catamaran with gillnetscomes about Rs. 8500/- and plank builtcanoe fitted with OBM operating gill/draft nets comes about Rs.40800/-. Theaverage number of fishing days comesabout 264 for catamarans with hooks and
lines, 263 for catamarans with gillnetsa'ld 260 for OBM units. 'The avereae
November 1988
1l,
operational expenditure per day worksout at Rs. 107/-. Rs. 159/- and Rs. 291/-for the three type of units respectivelyduring Spt. 1985 -August 1986.
For catamaran units with hooks andlines, the average gross returns per dayduring the year works out at Rs. 144/-.The gross returns are ranging from):': e...~. '~';:-'.-,~ " _'" . J,...\ ~..n <.: .,~. ...7.t....
for monsoon seasons. The net operatingincome per day works out at Rs. 37/- withthe range of Rs. 22/-. In post-monsoonto Rs. 83/- in monsoon seasons. The netprofit of the unit werks out at Rs. 8593/-per annum.
The annual gross returns for cata-marans with gillnets comes about
Rs. 56243/- and per day at Rs. 213/-. Thenet operating income per day of operationworks out at Rs. 54(-, which is Rs. 33/-in post-monsoon, Rs. 27/- in pre-mon-soon and Rs. 122/- in monsoon seasons.The annual net profit of this unit worksout at Rs. 11333/-.
The OBM units earns a gross incomeof Rs. 100117 !--per annum. The grossi,.~~cr;~(; ;:-e" .:~.;_: \o"!~f~"" ".:~.I: et ~::.. ..:.St,/
which is ranging from Rs. 202/- duringpre-monsoon to Rs.476/- during mon-soon season. The net operating incomeper day works out at Rs. 94/- the rangebeing Rs. 30/- in pre .monsoon to Rs.133/- for monsoon seasons. The annualnet profit of this unit works out atRs.11834/..
Considering the catch and revenuein different seasons for these units, mon-soon period (June-August) is found to bemore productive and profitable. Althoughcatamarans with hooks and lines earnbetter prices during the pre-monsoonseason, next to monsoon season, postmonsoon period accounts for more catchand ~f:)~,z~,..:~.
35
Sincs the initial investrl1ent is com-
paratively less the catamaran units showbetter input.output and capital efficienciesas compared to OBM units. This may bethe main reason that still considerablenumber of traditional units in Trivandrumcoast is not motorised inspite of its fastexpansion in other coastal districts of the~:~~''''". C,. ..u;"i:11,.;II~~ '"JO.ni;1 uV:1t\.~ ~{.(,! ~,;.~S
are highly suitable as a family enterprisefor the small investers who are capableto go for fishing in their own units. How-ever in terms of higher productivity, grossand net income and employment potentialthe canoe fitted with OBM is moreefficient.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are grateful to Dr. P. S. B. R.James, 0 irector, Central Marine FisheriesResearch Institute for his keen interest
and encouragement in carrying out thiswork. We are thankful to Shri D. B. S.Sehara. Head. F. E. E. Division for criti-
cally going through the manuscript.Thanks are also due to Shri. J. J. Joel,Senior Technical Assistant Vi7hinjamqdsea:ch Centre of CMFRI. for his help incollection of supplementary data and toShri. K. Anandan and Smt. K. P. Salini,Technical Assistants of the Institute fortabulation of data.
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