The fisheries census presented in this paper is part of a project for integrated development of marine fishing villages in the four coastal districts of Orissa. In the course of the project an extension service for traditional marine fisherfolk was established by the Department of Fisheries, Orissa; and training was provided to the extension officers in the areas of fishing technology, credit and finance, extension techniques and community development by the small-scale fisheries project of the Bay of Bengal Programme.

In conjunction with the training for extension officers, active extension work was also undertaken with BOBP support. This related to: (a) making institutional finance available for traditional fisherfolk; (b) establishing non-formal primary schools; (c) introducing and trying out motorized beachlanding craft and (d) introducing improved types of fishing gear.

To meet the information requirements of the extension service, a few surveys were conducted. These included a qualitative analysis of Orissa’s traditional fishing technology; a socio-cultural study of the major ethnic groups and castes forming the marine fisherfolk; a study of the economics of commonly used fishing methods; and last, but not the least, a fisheries census, which is presented in this paper.

Actual data collection and compilation at the village level were carried out for these studies by the officers of the Marine Fisheries Extension Service of Orissa. In compiling and interpreting the data, valuable advice was provided by Mr. P. Mohapatra, Additional Director of Fisheries; Mr. B. B. Mohapatra and Mr. R. K. Singh, Deputy Directors; and Mr. B. C. Patnaik, Superintendent of Fisheries Statistics.

It is hoped that the census methodology developed for this paper might be useful for other extension services in the Bay of Bengal region.