Report on the dried fish and fishmeal industry in Malvan, Maharashtra, India.

The Dakshin Foundation and the Dried Fish Matters (DFM) project jointly conducted a pilot study on the dried fish sector at Malvan, Maharashtra, to assess the structure, supply chain and trends of the dried fish economy, and its possible links with the fishmeal industry. Fish caught in Malvan has significantly declined in the past decade, reducing the dried fish trade as well. Dried fish trade is possibly further diminished by the development of the fishmeal industry. The study found that fish for drying may be increasingly diverted to fishmeal, as the letter is less labour-intensive and generates steady profits. The future of fish drying, therefore, appears to be under threat, primarily due to a low and unsteady supply of fish and potentially due to industries like fishmeal as well.