Impact of Climate Change and Occupational Hazards on QoL of Fisherfolk/Fish Processing Communities With Probable Mitigation Strategies

Abstract

Fishery includes farmed fisheries and wild fisheries; of which, wild fisheries are comprised of marine and freshwater fisheries that provide an important source of food, nutrition, employment and income, mostly in the developing countries including India. However, now-a-days, environmental factors, such as climate change, global warming, heat stress, unpredictable weather patterns, ecological imbalance, etc., causes either direct, or indirect effects on the fishery and fish processing industry; thus, encompass numerous challenges to the quality of life (QoL) of the target communities. Also, the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere through man-made activities worsen the situation. Besides, occupational exposure is another major factor due to physical, chemical, biological and psychological stressors that affect the overall productivity of this informal sector. Globally, millions of people are employed in the fishery and fish processing industry though women are the majority in the fish processing work in the developing countries; thereby it demands need-based support programs, national policies and action plans for the benefit of the stakeholders. Further, industry's resilience is dependent on the effective governance, sustainable practices and strong mitigation strategies, where fishing industry is not an exception. Hence, the present book chapter scrutinizes a wide range of environmental and occupational issues confronting the QoL of the communities, as well as explores the potential strategies to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change and occupational hazards in the fisherfolk and fish processing communities.