Coastal Aquaculture in the Indian Sundarban: Evaluating Production Economics and Farmers Perception of Mangrove Ecosystem Benefits

Abstract: Expansion of shrimp-based aquaculture in Sundarban is one of the major causative factors for the degradation of mangroves though has proven positive impact on aquaculture. In order to understand the perception of the local coastal community on the contribution of Mangrove Ecosystem Service in brackish water aquaculture in Indian Sundarban, a situational analysis was carried out in 2019-2020 with 30 farmers of Kultali block under South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. Based on the descriptive and inferential statistical analysis of the data collected from aquaculture pond owners, it was observed that the smaller farms, located in the vicinity of the mangroves (<50 mts from the mangrove creek) showed significant benefits through higher yield and lower operational costs. The results also showed that the farmers were not adequately aware of ecosystem benefits and the need to conserve mangroves for sustainable pond-based aquaculture.