Coastal transformation and fisher wellbeing: Perspectives from Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu, India

• Main Authors: Ajit, Menon, Maarten, Bavinck, Tara N., Lawrence, Nitya, Rao, Muthusankar, Gowrappan, Balasubramanian, Dhandapani, Arunkumar, A S, Bhagath Singh, A., Senthil Babu, D., Bautès, Nicolas
• Other Authors: Madras Institute od Development Studies (MIDS), Madras Institute od Development Studies, The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø, Norway (UiT), University of Amsterdam Amsterdam = Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA), University of East Anglia Norwich (UEA), Institut Français de Pondichéry (IFP), Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères (MEAE)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Espaces et Sociétés (ESO), Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Le Mans Université (UM)-Université d'Angers (UA)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Géographie et d'Aménagement Régional de l'Université de Nantes (IGARUN), Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN), French Institute of Pondicherry, Madras Institute of Development Studies, Arctic University of Norway, University of East Anglia, University of Amsterdam
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2022
• Subjects: Coastal transformation; Fishers wellbeing; Cuddalore; Tamil Nadu; India; Coromandel Coast; Industrialisation; Geospatial changes; Aquaculture; [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; Indian; Arctic
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04433551; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7503034

This report presents the results of a multi-disciplinary research project on the way the Indian coast is transforming and what consequences this has for the original fisher population. It takes Cuddalore District in Tamil Nadu as microcosm and discusses issues such as the industrialization of the coast, the changes affecting fisheries, land-use change, pollution and erosion. The final chapters consider the ways in which fisher wellbeing is impacted and how the fisher population – individually and collectively – responds. The authors argue that coastal transformation in India is many-sided and profound, and that the fishing population is bearing the brunt of modernization.