Abstract
In this chapter, we wrestle with the question that motivates this book: how to value small-scale fisheries? We do so in relation to an empirically rich case, the small-scale fishery of Gujarat, India. Our investigation of historical and social relational factors influencing the Gujarat fishery reveals the complexity of the notion of value. The fishery of Gujarat State is large, economically significant, internally diverse, and complex in organization and practice. Yet, even in comparison to other marginalized small-scale fisheries, Gujarat’s small and large scale fisheries are peripheral to the consciousness of most Gujaratis. We reflect on how the predominant value orientation of Gujarat has shaped its fisheries’ historical development and led to significant ecological and social contradictions in them. We argue that social wellbeing provides a productive analytical framework for understanding value in the Gujarat small-scale fishery in relation to history, social positionality, and scale. Our ethnographic evidence draws particularly on the researchers’ familiarity with two small-scale fishing harbours to explore how fishing articulates with caste, religion, class, gender, and history.
Published Version
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