When did the process of modernisation begin?
The modernisation of Indian fisheries started in the 1950s with a Norwegian-financed project involving the introduction of mechanised boats and renovation of a port in Kerala. The aim was to help traditional fishermen increase their production, but in reality the project brought them nothing but trouble as they did not have the necessary capital to invest in the more expensive gear and fuel needed for mechanised boats. Nor did they have access to markets to sell their larger catches. This was only the beginning of their woes. In the following decades, outsiders started coming in with trawlers that scrape the bottom of the sea and deplete fish stocks by destroying larvae and young fish. The economy underwent a marked technological polarisation, with traditional fisher people rapidly losing their hold on a livelihood that had kept them going for generations. By 1975, Kerala alone had 3,500 mechanised trawlers. In 1997, their number across India was around 23,000. But it was the arrival o
