Socio-economic conditions of the communities of the Kirtania and Chandrabali village (Balasore) fishing in the Subarnarekha River, Odisha, India

Fishing is one of the main important sources of income of the people who live near the riverine ecosystem and it has a significant impact on their livelihood and socio-economic development. The focus of the study was to collect important data on the socio-economic and livelihood conditions of the fishermen communities in the estuarine part of the Subarnarekha river at the Kirtania and Chandrabali villages in the Baleswar district of Odisha from June, 2020 to May, 2021 through the standard questionnaire survey method. Most of the fishermen were from Hindu families and belonged to the age between 31 and 40 (52 %). Illiteracy was found to be one of the vital issues in the study area, as about 28% of respondents were found to be illiterate and only 50% had signatory power. Fishing was the primary occupation of over 72 % of fishermen in the study area, followed by daily labor 18% and agriculture 10%. Around 62 % of fishermen have 5-6 family members, 20% have 7-10 family members, and 18% have only 2-4 family members. The average annual income of most fishermen was between Rs. 25000 and Rs.50000 (46 %). In the study, approximately 58 % of fishermen have a Kuchcha house, 34 % have a semi-kuchcha house, and only 4% have a pukka house. They face several problems, including illiteracy, insufficient credit facilities, a lack of scientific knowledge as well as lack of government funding and so on. To address these issues, the government must be more constructive, and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) must have to play a vital role in enhancing the local fishing community's socio-economic development.