AUTHOR=Nair Navya Vikraman , Nayak Prateep Kumar 

TITLE=RETRACTED: Uncovering water quality and evaluating vulnerabilities of small-scale fisheries in Chilika Lagoon, India

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1087296

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2023.1087296

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=Small-scale fisheries play a strong role in sustaining millions of livelihoods, food security, and income globally but the fishers engaged in this sector simultaneously experience high levels of vulnerability and processes of marginalization. Several factors are attributed to the multidimensional vulnerabilities the small-scale fishers experience, spanning both natural (e.g., natural disasters, ecosystem change) and anthropogenic (e.g., policy change, hydrological interventions, aquaculture) pressures. While there is much literature on various natural and human drives of vulnerability in small-scale fishery communities, an absence of research connecting vulnerability with water quality is evident. Fisher communities often talk about fish in relation to the health of their aquatic habitats wherein water quality is seen as a key parameter. The link between healthy fish and good-quality water has significant implications for strong and viable fishing communities. This paper examines these links further by focusing on the nature of vulnerabilities caused by water quality changes in the small-scale fishery system of Chilika Lagoon in India. We undertake a detailed analysis of the invasive shrimp aquaculture activities and hydrological interventions for the opening of a lagoon inlet with the Bay of Bengal as two dominant drivers adversely impacting water quality and increasing vulnerabilities of the entire small-scale fisheries social-ecological system. Our analysis suggests that there are strong interconnections between changes in water quality and the levels of vulnerabilities in the small-scale fisheries of Chilika Lagoon.   This helps in bridging a crucial gap in our understanding of the role of water quality in vulnerability analysis within resource-dependent communities. We conclude with key insights on possible coping responses and adaptive capacity necessary for the small-scale fisheries communities to transition toward viability.