A significant problem facing developing countries is high level of unemployment and scarcity of productive resources. Judicious exploitation of limited resources could provide an effective means of tackling this problem. Specifically, the wetlands of these countries are crying out for proper management policies that can generate adequate returns for stakeholders. Factors like overexploitation & depletion of stocks, coastal degradation, use of unmindful capital intensive fishing techniques and seasonality in fishing practices have compromised marine fishery. This has been further compounded by the lack of awareness of sustainable fishing methods. This book is based on a study undertaken in West Bengal, India which considers government-owned firm and government undertaking firms in the analysis of the brackish water fisheries, while the marine side deals with fisheries along the Digha coast and Junput Khuti. Certain statistical techniques have been utilised for this purpose.The book is mainly intended for researchers and students of Economics and allied disciplines who have a background or interest in sustainable fishery and natural resource management.

Fishery serves multiple socio-economic and environmental purposes.In India West Bengal occupies the topmost position in contributing to inland production.Burdwan district is the biggest one in the state and marked by the existence of diverse environmental and productive conditions of fishery ponds because of their dispersed locations in both industrial and agricultural belt.Despite differing locational features of sample ponds, the fishermen associated with the PFCS/FPG are usually poor, semi-literate, live in poor housing and hardly have in-house toilet.Inadequate infrastructural facility, erratic supply of quality seed, high input cost, improper marketing channel, absence of proper storage facility, lack of species enhancement hamper steady attainment of productivity, profitability and marketing efficiency.Again often sustainability issue linked to environmental quality of fish pond and fish health are traded off with higher profit.Often production far below MSY level is observed due to lack of adequate fund and skilled management.Environmental and economic parameters of ponds should be properly addressed to for sustainable management of fishery ponds.