A livelihood baseline for coastal fishing communities

What is shaping fishing

Fishing connects coastal communities, processors and exporters in a supply chain where freshness, ice and timing decide value. Livelihoods depend on seasons, regulation and access to cold chain.

• Seasonal fishing bans and weather drive income cycles
• Cold chain and processing determine export quality
• Welfare schemes and cooperatives support fisher families

An international development agency, working in Andhra Pradesh & Odisha coast. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.

Organisation

An international development agency

Sector

Fishing

Team engaged

Market Research

Services

Government research, Offline data collection (CAPI), Data processing & analytics

The agency was launching a programme to strengthen fisher livelihoods but lacked reliable data on household income, assets, debt and seasonal patterns. Existing figures were years old and did not separate traditional boat owners from crew members.

• Deliver on the brief: a livelihood baseline for coastal fishing communities.
• Understand the views, needs and behaviour of fisher households.
• Understand the views, needs and behaviour of coastal villages.
• Produce results that can be compared across groups and locations.
• Give the client evidence it can act on within 11 weeks.

The work focused on 2,600 fisher households and 80 coastal villages.

• fisher households2,600
• coastal villages80

Audiences we typically reach in fishing

Fishers and boat ownersFish traders and auctioneersProcessors and exportersSeafood consumersCooperatives and scheme officials

Coverage: Andhra Pradesh & Odisha coast. Market: India.

• India

A structured quantitative design, so results could be compared across groups, locations and time.

1. 1Brief
2. 2Household survey
3. 3Community mapping
4. 4Insight

Our field teams, recruited from coastal districts, conducted interviews in Telugu and Odia outside fishing hours. The questionnaire captured income across lean and peak seasons, boat ownership, debts to traders and access to insurance. Every interview was GPS-tagged and a share were independently back-checked.

Government researchOffline data collection (CAPI)Data processing & analytics

fisher households

2,600

coastal villages

80

• Respondents were selected across Andhra Pradesh & Odisha coast using quotas set in advance for each location and respondent type, so no single area or group dominated.

• Trained local-language interviewers conducted interviews in person on tablets (CAPI), with time and location recorded for every interview.

• Back-checks on a share of completed interviews
• Time and location checks on field interviews
• Supervisor accompaniment in the field
• Logic and range checks on the final data
• Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures

• Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
• Significance testing on the differences that mattered
• Interactive dashboard for ongoing tracking

• The baseline showed sharp differences between owners and crew, and heavy reliance on informal credit from fish traders.

Seasonality must be designed into fisheries surveys; a single “monthly income” question hides most of the story.

• Build on the core insight: seasonality must be designed into fisheries surveys; a single “monthly income” question hides most of the story.
• Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: the baseline showed sharp differences between owners and crew, and heavy reliance on informal credit from fish traders.
• Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.

• The agency targeted its savings and insurance components at crew households and set measurable indicators to evaluate the programme in later rounds.

What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.

• Insight report and management presentation
• Cleaned data file and data tables
• Interactive dashboard
• Evaluation findings with programme recommendations

• Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
• A natural follow-on question: where is value lost between catch and market?