Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) in Fisheries Sector of Northern and Central Region of India (A Resource Book)

Central Institute of Fisheries Education has taken up this initiative of documenting of ITKs in fisheries through a series of writeshops for East Coast, West Coast, North Eastern region and Central and Northern Regions of India. These writeshops culminated into the development of resource books for each region. This resource book focuses on ITKs of Central and Northern regions of India. Indigenous tribes belonging to 573 communities constitute about 8% of the total population of India (as per 1991 sensus). The central and northern regions of India are inhabited by a large number of indigenous population which includes communities like Santhals, Gond, Bhil, Manjhi etc. The tribal communities of these regions, based on the changing necessities, intuition and instinct, careful observation of the phenomena happening in nature and trials and errors in the process of development of the indigenous techniques, have evolved an appreciable number of unique techniques and processes that enabled these communities to live in harmony with nature in a sustainable and eco-friendly manner. This book is a part of the series of the resource books on ITKs in fisheries sector of India. The book incorporates information about ITKs pertaining to the Central and Northern regions, which are famous for their rich cultural heritage and diverse traditional knowledge interwoven with clear scientific acumen. This book is a sincere effort towards enriching the database on Indigenous Technical Knowledge in the fisheries sector with particular reference to the Central and Northern regions of India. The editors hope that this book will be of use to all stakeholders.