Socio economic profile of fisherwomen involved in marine fisheries in Karnataka

The fisheries sector plays a crucial role in India's economy, contributing significantly to national income, employment, and foreign exchange. Particularly in Karnataka, marine fisheries are vital to the livelihoods of coastal communities. This study explores the socio-economic characteristics of fisherwomen engaged in post-harvest activities in Karnataka's Uttara Kannada district. Using a purposive random sampling method, data were collected from 120 fisherwomen in Karwar and Ankola taluks through pretested interview schedule and analysed using frequencies and percentages. The results indicate that a half (50.00%) of the respondents are young and cent percent of the respondents belong to backward communities, 36.67 per cent of them were illiterates and more than half of the respondents studied upto high school. Great majority (95.83%) were married, live in nuclear families, and rely primarily on fisheries for their income. 65.00 per cent had medium annual income and had experience upto 10-20 years.