Ethnographic Investigations of Commercial Aquaculture as a Rural Development Technique in Tamil Nadu, India

Authors

Brittany L. Kiessling, Florida International UniversityFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Global and Sociocultural Studies

First Advisor's Name

Juliet Erazo

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee chair

Second Advisor's Name

Roderick Neumann

Second Advisor's Committee Title

committee member

Third Advisor's Name

Gail Hollander

Third Advisor's Committee Title

committee member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Mahadev Bhat

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

committee member

Fifth Advisor's Name

Laura Ogden

Fifth Advisor's Committee Title

committee member

Keywords

Aquaculture, Rural development, India, agrarian change, tsunami, livelihoods, Green Revolution, Blue Revolution, Environmental Risk

Date of Defense

6-2-2016

Abstract

Since the 1960s, international aid organizations and governments have invested millions of dollars in promoting aquaculture as a way to stimulate local economies and improve food security. India is one such country, incorporating aquaculture research and extension programs as part of their development plans as early as 1971. India’s aquaculture promotion efforts gained momentum in 2004, following the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. The government sees aquaculture as a post-disaster development tool and a method to increase community resilience in rural areas of India.

Aquaculture currently constitutes nearly half of global seafood production today. Due to this importance, and the attention such practices receive through funding and extension, many scholars have focused on the social impacts that aquaculture practices have on rural communities. In particular, scholars have investigated the effects of aquaculture on environmental conditions, food security, livelihoods, gender relations, and social conflict. However, more scholarship is needed concerning the historical legacies that have contributed to how aquaculture is promoted and practiced, particularly connections to the Green Revolution. Furthermore, there needs to be more research about commercial aquaculture as a post-disaster development strategy.

My research – based on 9 months of ethnographic fieldwork and archival analysis in Tamil Nadu, India – contributes to this body of literature. I synthesized post-development theory with that of environmental risk and vulnerability, building upon the work of scholars such as James Ferguson, Tania Li, and Piers Blaikie. My analysis uncovers large disparities between the goals of aquaculture development programs and actual aquaculture outcomes. I attribute this to the technocratic governance structure of the aquaculture industry, which leads to a lack of engagement and participation between aquaculture managers, researchers, and practitioners. This lack of engagement ultimately makes the communities in which aquaculture is being practiced more vulnerable to anthropogenic and natural disturbances. Additionally, I found that aquaculture practices in the study site are causing significant changes to local agrarian structures, particularly through changes to labor. These changes have implications for social stratification and disempowerment of women. Overall, these findings contribute to the anthropological study of aquaculture as well as to theories of post-development.

Identifier

FIDC000763

Recommended Citation

Kiessling, Brittany L., "Ethnographic Investigations of Commercial Aquaculture as a Rural Development Technique in Tamil Nadu, India" (2016). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2560.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2560