Bhubaneswar, Nov 3: The marine fisher census is set to commence across Odisha from Monday and will continue till December 18. The exercise, aimed at collecting comprehensive data on the socio-economic status of marine fishers, is being coordinated by the ICAR–Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).
To ensure accuracy and efficiency, CMFRI has introduced a dedicated mobile application, “BIAS India” (Bay of Bengal Integrated Assessment System), which will be used to record and manage data during the survey.
The census will cover six coastal districts of the state- Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, and Ganjam- focusing on families dependent on marine fishing for their livelihood. Enumerators will collect detailed information on the number of fisher families, their traditional occupations, boats, nets, housing conditions, livelihood changes, basic amenities, and overall socio-economic status.
The last marine fisher census was conducted in 2016. The survey is held once every five years to assess the living conditions of the fishing community and help the government plan welfare schemes and development initiatives accordingly. The data also plays a crucial role in understanding trends in marine fish production.
The census scheduled for 2021 was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the situation now normalized, the government has instructed that the enumeration be carried out this year.
According to the 2016 census, Odisha’s six coastal districts had 55 fish landing centers, 739 fishing villages, 1,15,228 fisher families, including 92,569 active fishing families, and a total of 5,17,623 individual fishers.
Officials expect the upcoming census to provide updated insights into the changing socio-economic landscape of the state’s fishing communities.
