Paper short abstract:

Based on a long-term ethnographic research carried out with Goan artisanal fishermen, this communication explores their relation with the seaworld, through a focus on how they actively respond to an accelerated reconfiguration of their social spaces derived from mechanized fishing and tourism.

Paper long abstract:

India´s coastal populations, largely constituted by artisanal fishermen, have witnessed a deep transformation of the fishery sector. This change resulted from a post-independence fisheries policy, based on top-down development schemes. This industrial/development drive had distinct impacts on fishermen populations all over India (Subramanian 2009; Kurien 1985).

The immediate effects of mechanization in Goa came at a very high cost for fishing resources, ecosystems and artisanal fishermen, from which the Goan Pagi fishermen(a social disadvantaged and low caste population) are an example. This conjuncture has led them to a partial/total abandonment of artisanal fishing in favour of more profitable economic activities (i.e. tourism).

Tourism in Goa started with the arrival of the hippies in the late 1960s, but only in the 1980s was the industry considered a government priority sector. Since Goa fishermen live on the beach, tourism soon became one of their main subsistence activities, turning them into active participants in this sector Trichur 2013). This involvement in tourism allowed their economic survival but also meant a break with social stigmatization (Siqueira 1995).

Based on a long-term ethnographic research carried out with the Pagi in the coastal villages of Galgibaga and Agonda, this communication explores their inherent relation with the seaworld. Through a focus on "water as a principal configurative force [of their] society" (Hastrup and Rubow 2014: 20), I analyse the way these artisanal fishermen actively respond to an accelerated reconfiguration of their social spaces derived from two global industries: trawler fishing and tourism.