Differences in the organization of aquaculture farming in northern Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, India

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Differences in the organization of aquaculture farming

in northern Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, India

The history and development of a pioneering aquaculture sector and its

embedding in the local surroundings

Aquaculture laborer checking the size of the prawn (Source: Author, 2018)

Bachelor Thesis Future Planet Studies Major Human Geography

Meik Verdonk

Student number: 10750738

E-mail: meikverdonk@hotmail.com

Supervisor: Dhr. Prof. dr. J.M. Bavinck Second assessor: Dhr. J. V. Rothuizen MSc University of Amsterdam

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Abstract

The aim of this research is to examine the organization of aquaculture farming activities in northern Cuddalore, and their embeddedness in the local surroundings. This is of particular relevance since aquaculture is a pioneering sector in the area, of which the development has been fast and mostly unregulated. Furthermore, many sectors are involved in the

aquaculture business, and many stakeholders in the local surroundings experience effects of the aquaculture business. The findings gathered through a qualitative case study design pointed out that there are large and important differences between the two villages

appointed as the research area, in both the organizational structure of aquaculture activities, as the embedding of the sector in the local surroundings and the experiences of this local surroundings with the aquaculture sector. Lastly, the future expectations of the aquaculture sector and academic experts greatly differ from each other.

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1. Introduction

Over the last couple of decades, aquaculture has been growing more and more into a sector of major importance when it comes to world food production. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (2016) the world aquaculture production of fish (including for non-food uses) in 2014 was 44.1% of the total production from capture fisheries and aquaculture, compared with 31.1% in 2004. However, if non-food uses are put aside, the aquaculture sector transcended the capture fisheries sector in terms of food supply for the first time in 2014 (FAO, 2016). The growth of the aquaculture sector partly depends on the growing global demand for fish. One of the reasons for this increase in demand is population growth. Furthermore, changing diets due to income growth, urbanization and a shift in preferences in developed countries towards fisheries products instead of red meat (Finegold, 2009) play a role. Besides, a decrease in the share of commercial fish stocks that are within a biologically sustainable level from 90% in 1974 to 68.6% in 2013, causing the global capture fisheries sector to operate on an overexploiting level without producing any further productivity gains (FAO, 2016; Finegold, 2009). The statements mentioned above, suggest that the aquaculture sector has an important position in providing the basis for livelihoods and nutrition of millions of people in the developing world. On top of that, it is a significant source of foreign exchange for an extensive amount of developing economies (Finegold, 2009).

According to Asche, Roll and Trollvik (2009) close to 180 countries reported at least a level of aquaculture. This number is likely to be expanded now. However, the regional levels of production differ significantly in volume and value. According to the FAO (2015) Asia provides 89% of all aquaculture production measured by volume worldwide. Therefore, Asia is by far the most important producer when it comes to aquaculture, with China being the leading country (58.8%) followed by Indonesia (13.5%), India (4.7%), Viet Nam (3.4%) and the Philippines (2.4%) (FAO, 2015).

The aquaculture industry in India has grown enormously since 1990, especially in areas at the coast such as Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu, due to the abundance of brackish water lands available for cultivation (Kagoo & Rajalakshmi, 2002). However, this rapidly emerging sector of aquaculture is not without consequences. The intensification relies heavily on ecosystem services and the local environment, and the profits of a change from production for cash instead of food do not always benefit the indigenous population in the form of a better socio-economic position (ibid.). This stated, many actors are involved in the aquaculture business, voluntarily or not, and are affected by the sector. This can lead to conflicts, for instance over natural resources such as water or land quality, or land use (Van der Kust, 2017). However, it may as well provide job opportunities for local communities, since the sector is lucrative and growing fast (Kagoo & Rajalakshmi, 2002). The strong regional differences in aquaculture production, the many actors involved and it being a rapidly growing sector make it an interesting topic of study. The aquaculture sector in the northern part of the Cuddalore district in Tamilnadu, India is relatively new and pioneering, and therefore an interesting research area.

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This study means to investigate the history and development of the pioneering aquaculture sector in the northern part of the Cuddalore district and its embedding in the local surroundings. Therefore, an in-depth case study in the Cuddalore district is carried out to gather context-specific information on the topics of development, money and investing, property and agreements, necessary knowledge and its origin, labor networks and future expectations for the aquaculture sector, as well as the actors in the surrounding areas. From this data a comprehensive view on the different perspectives will be established to answer the following research question: How are aquaculture activities in northern Cuddalore

organized, and to what extent are they embedded in their local surroundings?

The thesis is structured as follows. First, the theoretical framework elaborates on relevant theories and concepts able to contribute to the research. Second, a chapter in which the methodology and research design for the fieldwork in Cuddalore are presented, along with the justification of the choices that have been made during the preparation and execution of the research. This chapter is followed by a presentation of the fieldwork results, structured through a contextual section with an overview of the history and current situation in Cuddalore. Next, the organization of aquaculture farms in Thazhanguda and Suba Uppalavadi, and the perspectives regarding aquaculture farms and their embeddedness in the local surroundings are presented. At last, a discussion and conclusion will be presented in which the above research question will be answered.

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2. Methodology

Below, the methodological decisions that have been made regarding this research are presented. The different methods of data collection, the strategy of sampling the research units and the area of research, data analysis decisions, the validity and reliability of the data used, and the limitations and ethics of the research performed are all discussed.

2.1 Objects of Study

As presented earlier, the main research question in this thesis is ‘How are aquaculture

activities in northern Cuddalore organized, and to what extent are they embedded in their local surroundings?’

To answer this question in-depth information had to be collected on the development and organization of the aquaculture sector in northern Cuddalore. This focus was mainly on business management and knowledge, property rights and agreements, and investment motives and future expectations. Furthermore, to gain insight in the degree of embeddedness in the local surroundings it was necessary to obtain knowledge of the local surroundings in the forms of social networks, labor networks and the distribution network of the aquaculture sector. Therefore, to answer the main research question, the following sub-questions will be answered:

- How did the aquaculture farms in the northern part of Cuddalore develop since 1990?

- What is needed for an aquaculture farm to operate and thrive, in terms of knowledge, property, labor, distribution and management?

- Who are the investing actors in the aquaculture sector in the northern part of Cuddalore, and what are their expectations for the future?

- How is the development of the aquaculture farms experienced by other actors in the local surroundings?

2.2 Research Strategy

This research is part of the Bachelor thesis program, organized by the Department of Human Geography, Planning and International Development Studies of the University of Amsterdam. The program consisted of a fieldwork trip in April and May 2018, to collect ethnographic data in the Cuddalore district of the Indian state Tamil Nadu. In order to conduct a proper study, literature research has been done in order to define and refine the research topic, as well as the context of the research.

The fieldwork trip was used to gather knowledge and gain insight in the business organization and embeddedness of aquaculture farms in Cuddalore district, and in how this embeddedness is experienced by the local community around it. To obtain the necessary information a qualitative research approach is most adequate, since the social aspects of the research, such as degree of embeddedness and how this is experienced, are difficult to

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quantify. However, to answer the first sub-question and support the second one, a GIS-element is added to the research, by which the spatial distribution of aquaculture farms is investigated. The research design will follow a case study method, since there are many context-specific aspects at stake in the research on the development of a sector in a specific area, as well as how this development is experienced and potentially influenced by different actors. In a case study, a single case, or several cases are analyzed extensively and in great detail, which gives the researcher an in-depth understanding of human behavior and its surroundings (Bryman, 2016). However, the in-depth analysis of a single case also creates the foremost criticism on the case study research method. The results of a case study are impossible to generalize due to the fact that the research focus is on in-depth information, instead of quantifiable data (Bryman, 2016).

Nevertheless, generalization of the findings is not the purpose of this research. Scientific theories that have been created by research executed in the past create the possibility of examining the complex organizational structure and embeddedness of the aquaculture sector in the northern part of Cuddalore in a certain way. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to extensively immerse the research outcomes with the theories and concepts analyzed in the theoretical framework, to create the possibility of an analytic or theoretical

generalization (Bryman, 2016; Yin, 2003).

This case study can be defined as descriptive, as well as explanatory. First, several aspects of the organizational structure of the aquaculture sector in the northern part of Cuddalore are described. Second, from the description of the organization structure, an explanation of the perceptions of stakeholders and different power relations between stakeholders, as well as the embeddedness of the aquaculture sector in the area is derived. The qualitative approaches used in this research to gain in-depth qualitative data are interviews and participant observation. These are most useful in uncovering the feelings, understanding and knowledge of participants (Bryman, 2016). This research made use of semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews and informal interviews. The data collection methods will be described more profound later.

2.3 Area of Research

The exact area of research was decided upon during the first two days of the research period in Cuddalore district itself, by scouting potential locations in the northern part of Cuddalore. The initial reason for choosing Thazhanguda and Suba Uppalavadi was a literature study on earlier documentation about the area and studies performed in southern Cuddalore, and a Google Earth study performed in the Netherlands. The literature provided the names of potential villages with aquaculture practices, and with recent Google Earth satellite images on coastal land use and land cover these aquaculture practices were confirmed. In Figure 1 the research area in Cuddalore district is presented.

Thazhanguda and Suba Uppalavadi are two villages in the upper part of the district of Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu. Both villages are located right next to the Ponnaiyar river, which forms the border of the Pondicherry and Cuddalore districts. The river is of use to many stakeholders in the surrounding area. For instance, the river fisheries population living in Gunuu Uppalavadi, the aquaculture sector releasing their sewage water into it, the industry

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sector more upstream releasing their industry waste into the river, and Cuddalore Town as a city with a high rate of urbanization using the river for much of its human waste. The river mouth into the Bay of Bengal is closed in the case of Suba Uppalavadi and opens just once a year during the monsoon season. In the case of Thazhanguda, the rivermouth to the Bay of Bengal is open all year round.

Thazhanguda is a fishermen village located on an island in the middle of the river, bordering the Bay of Bengal on the east side, where all the fishermen practice their fishing. On the south side of the village three big aquaculture farms are located and a new one is being built. Across the river eight to ten other smaller aquaculture farms are located, some of which are in use, while some of them are not. Aquaculture is not a part of the villagers’ occupation but takes place adjacent to the backwater and is practiced by people from outside the village.

Suba Uppalavadi is the village north of Thazhanguda, bordering the same river as Thazhanguda on the south side, the Bay of Bengal on the east, but also the small Mullodai Lagoon north of the village. All the aquaculture farms near the village are situated near the Mullodai Lagoon. There are ten farms located here, of which nine of them are small farms with three or fewer ponds and one bigger farm with seven ponds. Suba Uppalavadi is a village divided in two parts, of which the half bordering the Bay of Bengal exists of fishermen, but the other more inland half of the village exists of agricultural laborers. Of these fishermen and agricultural laborers, nine families with land close to the backwater have been able to invest in aquaculture.

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Figure 1: Research area in Cuddalore district with aquaculture farms surrounding the Ponnaiyar River and Mullodai Lagoon. The numbers refer to aquaculture farms nearby Thazhanguda and Suba Uppalavadi that have been interviewed. Adapted from Google Earth, 2017

2.4 Sampling Strategy

Because the fieldwork area is unfamiliar to the researcher, the sampling strategy of this research has relied mostly on snowball sampling. The data collection process can be divided in three parts (Thazhanguda, Suba Uppalavadi and experts) with three research groups per village (laborers, owners and stakeholders). Usually, first contact was made with the laborers on the aquaculture farms since they are ever present and willing to talk, after which geographical information on aquaculture farms in the area, as well as contact details of aquaculture farm owners was obtained. The contact details for experts were obtained from our professor, Maarten Bavinck, who has done extensive research in the area himself, as well as his research partner, K. Subramanian. The different categories of respondents are presented in Table 1.

First, to be able to identify the historical development of aquaculture farms in the area of the Ponnaiyar river, it was necessary to interview key figures that have played a role in the development of the sector. Through snowball sampling it was possible to interview farm owners that have been in the aquaculture sector since the very beginning in Suba Uppalavadi. In Thazhanguda this was harder, but for a more general development overview in Cuddalore and confirmation of data collected in Suba Uppalavadi, an expert on aquaculture in Cuddalore has been interviewed.

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Furthermore, the research demanded insight in the operational needs of an aquaculture farm. Therefore, aquaculture laborers, as well as the owners, have been an important source of data for aquaculture practices and additional important information on the organization of an aquaculture farm. As well as with the information on the historical development of the area, this information is enriched with the interviews of several experts in the area.

Third, investment patterns and future expectations have been mostly investigated through interviews with farm owners. However, the future expectations of other stakeholders in the area could have let to important results for the research as well, so questions about the future have been incorporated in the interviews with all stakeholders, including experts. Last, to investigate the experiences of the development of the aquaculture sector by other actors in the area, these actors had to be defined, located, and interviewed. This has proceeded mainly through the snowball sampling method, apart from the local population that has been selected through the convenient sampling method in the town of Thazhanguda and Suba Uppalavadi. The stakeholders that have been identified are presented in the tables below. In addition, it is important to note that observation has been an important method of defining stakeholders, and that stakeholders do not have to be a homogenous group. Not every stakeholder that belongs to a group formed by the researcher, necessarily has the same motives, perceptions, opinions, and for instance social relations as other stakeholders in that group.

RESPONDENTS DURING THE FIELDWORK IN CUDDALORE DISTRICT

WORKERS ON AQUACULTURE FARMS (INDIVIDUALLY)

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MANAGERS OF AQUACULTURE FARMS 5

OWNERS OF AQUACULTURE FARMS 7

VILLAGERS (INDIVIDUALLY) 7

V. P. DISTRICT AQUACULTURE ASSOCIATION 1

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ACTIVIST 1

PROFESSOR ANNAMALEI UNIVERSITY 1

WORKERS (FOCUSGROUP OF 5 PEOPLE) 1

FISHERMEN (FOCUSGROUP OF 8 PEOPLE) 1

AGRICULTURAL LABORERS (FOCUSGROUP OF 5 PEOPLE)

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TOTAL RESPONDENTS 52 Table 1: Categories of respondents during the fieldwork in Cuddalore District (Source: Author, 2018)

2.5 The Process of Data Collection

The data collections process existed out of 3 parts, that can be divided as research in Thazhanguda, research in Suba Uppalavadi, and interviews with the experts. The research parts in both villages can be subdivided in interviewing the laborers, the owners, and other stakeholders as presented in table 2. The semi-structured interviews have been conducted with the use of a topic list, with topics depending on the participant being interviewed. When interviewing laborers, the focus was more on basic information about the farm, and when interviewing farm owners, the topic list focused more on development trends, necessary knowledge, property rights, the distribution system of the farm, management, and investment. The process of interviewing was asking a question in the English language by the researcher, after which the translator translated the question into the Tamil language. After the question was asked in Tamil, the respondent answered the question in Tamil and the translator translated the answer back to English for the researcher. Answers given in interviews by respondents have been written down in field notes, as well as certain characteristic features about the respondent, event, or atmosphere.

Respondents per village Thazhanguda Suba Uppalavadi

Aquaculture sector Workers 6 6

Managers 4 2 Owners 3 4 Villagers Fishermen 8 -Agricultural laborers - 6 Other 2 4 Total 23 22

Table 2: Respondents per village in the research area in Cuddalore District (Source: Author, 2018)

The first days were characterized by mapping of the research area, and in more detail the villages Thazhanguda and Suba Uppalavadi near the Ponnaiyar river by observing, locating, and identifying the research units. This has been done by driving around in the area, the first

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day with K. Subramanian, and the next days with a translator. Furthermore, the first days were spend getting to know the translator and sharing the research objectives, to reduce the possibility of misinterpretations.

In the first week three farms in Thazhanguda were approached, of which the laborers provided us with necessary geographical information about other aquaculture farms in the area, as well as contact details of the farm owners in Thazhanguda. Furthermore, the information of the aquaculture laborers was very valuable to gain insight in the operational needs of an aquaculture farm. A focus group has been held with 5 of the laborers of one of the farms, 3 supervisors of the farms have been interviewed, and the 3 owners of the farms have been interviewed, one of which was the Vice President of the District Aquaculture Association who provided in-depth expert information on the historical development of the aquaculture sector, the process of licensing and regulations for aquaculture farms, and organization of the farms.

The next week the farms on the other side of the river near Thazhanguda have been approached, as well as the farms in Suba Uppalavadi. Semi-structured interviews have been carried out with owners and laborers of 5 farms, as well as A. Selvam, an environmental activist.

The last week of the fieldwork period in Cuddalore was used to interview the other stakeholders in the area, and interviewing A. Gopalakrishnan, a marine biologist with an aquaculture and environmental science career on the Annamalai University in Parangipettai, Cuddalore. The interviews with the stakeholders were conducted in the last week of fieldwork on purpose, to decrease the possibility of generating distrust among participants in the aquaculture sector and influence any of the relations made with them. It has to be mentioned that participant classified as a villager in table 1, was actually the head of the fishermen in Gundu Uppalavadi and provided the researcher with crucial information about the research area. Therefore, this participant is considered an expert and, as well as Gundu Uppalavadi as a village, is not present in table 2. The interview with A. Gopalakrishnan was conducted in the last week of the fieldwork to obtain objective answers to certain new questions that came up during the semi-structured interviews with farm owners, since Gopalakrishnan has a broad academic background and has been close to the aquaculture sector in Cuddalore since the very beginning.

Lastly, an important source of data through the entire fieldwork period were detailed observations done by the researcher in the study area in the form of participant observation. The data obtained during the participant observations was recorded in the forms of field notes and photographic content. Not only participants, but also the setting and atmosphere of the research area were observed, through documentation of the environment and the living conditions of participants. This was done to create a more comprehensive understanding of the research area. Furthermore, the units of observation can be defined as aquaculture farms, specifically all activities and functions executed by the individuals on these farms, as well as the villagers of the villages Thazhanguda and Suba Uppalavadi close to the backwater areas as presented in figure 1.

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2.6 Limitations & Ethics

By doing research with a limited time frame in a foreign country, in a local environment that is completely new to the researcher, some research limitations are impossible to overcome. The first limitations of the research have already been pointed out in the research strategy and are ever present in case study research models. Namely, the impossibility of

generalization of the research results, due to the fact that in-depth information of a single case in a local environment is gathered. The validity in qualitative, social research refers to the degree of appropriateness of the tools, data and research processes used (Leung, 2015), but since every case study is highly context specific, the validity of the research is of a low level. Next to that, the representativeness of the sampling is low, since convenience sampling, as well as snowball sampling has been used to gather the research respondents. Furthermore, the reliability in this case study research is hard to guarantee since every outcome of social research relies on social settings. Social settings are not objective, and since the researcher is the primary instrument of the collection of data and analysis out of these social settings, subjectivity among case study research is impossible to overcome. Therefore, it is very difficult to conduct the same research with a different researcher and generate the exact same results.

Secondly, it is important to note that most of the communication in interviews proceeded with the use of a translator, since there was a language barrier at present between the researcher and the respondents in the research area. This barrier increases the possibility of misinterpretations of interview questions, as well as answers provided by respondents, and miscommunications between the researcher and the respondents. This can have a negative effect on the research results, since the interview questions, as well as the answers are disturbed several times, and could have reduced the validity of the research. These

disturbances can occur when the interview questions of the researcher are interpreted and translated by the translator; when the translated interview question is interpreted by the respondent; when the answer of the respondent is interpreted and translated by the translator; and when the translated answer of the respondent is interpreted by the researcher.

Thirdly, it is important to note that not every aquaculture farm unit in the area of the Ponnaiyar river has granted access to the researcher. Therefore, not every potential respondent has been interviewed and not every part of the research area has been

investigated. There have been a variety of reasons for this, for instance a certain degree of illegal practices on the farm, no approval of the owner, or inappropriate timing of

approaching certain farms. This creates a limitation to the research, since there is a

possibility that important research data remained covered, which could be an influence on the degree of truth in the research results.

Fourthly, it has to be taken into account that all interviews with laborers were conducted in the working environment of the farm. As a result, there were always other laborers around when the interviews took place, and out of curiosity they sometimes gathered together during the interview. This has generated several unintended influences on the research results, in a positive, as well as a negative way. Positively, it sometimes revealed certain topics, or discussion points that had not been considered of some value for the research

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before. In a negative way, the laborers that gathered around the intended respondent might have influenced the openness and reliability in the answers of the respondent. In addition, if there was a supervisor, manager or owner present at the moment of the interview, the laborers might have provided answers during the interview that were socially desirable in that particular moment. The translator present was very mindful in situations where the interview results could have been influenced by external factors and was constantly

analyzing whether answers by respondents were transparent or could be disputed. This was also the case when interviewing the villagers in Thazhanguda and Suba Uppalavadi, where agricultural laborers were working together on a field, or fishermen were gathered together on the beach.

Lastly, according to Bryman (2016), it is necessary to take the following ethical

considerations in to account in social research: harm to participants, a lack of informed consent, an invasion of privacy, and deception involved.

The first principle of Bryman (2016), harm to participants, which can be defined in a very broad spectrum, for instance stress, self-esteem and other social of physical conditions has been avoided as much as possible. For instance, some aquaculture laborers did not want to be interviewed, or grant the researcher access to the farm because of fear for dismissal by the owner of the farm, which was respected in every case. Furthermore, certain interview questions or topics could be interpreted as sensitive or provoking by the respondent. Therefore, the translator has been of a sincere contribution in examining the state and willingness of the respondent to answer certain questions.

The second principle of Bryman (2016), a lack of informed consent, has been avoided by introducing the purpose of the research at the very beginning of every contact made with potential participants, after which potential participants were asked if they would be willing to contribute to the research. In the case of the participants being laborers on an

aquaculture farm or villagers, it has always been checked whether they wanted to be interviewed anonymously or not. In this way, potential participants were able to make a well-considered decision on whether they had want to participate in the research or not. The third principle of Bryman (2016), an invasion of privacy, has been kept as minimal as possible but sometimes the privacy of a respondent could have been invaded. For instance, by interviewing farm owners and asking questions about investment costs and profit, or by entering a certain farm if no response was given by the laborers. However, there has not been any form of conflict from these small privacy invasions, and if respondents refused to answer, of did not grand access to certain properties, this has been respected by the researcher and the translator.

The last principle of Bryman (2016), the involvement of deception, is unlikely to occur in this research, since every participant has been informed in an honest manner about the purpose of the research, as well as the use of data.

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3. Theoretical Framework

There is a variety of academic literature concerning aquaculture development and the challenges that the sector and its surroundings are facing. However, literature on the specific research area is limited.

In this theoretical framework the drivers, challenges and development of aquaculture are examined. In addition, the theories of sustainable development and externalities and venture creation are presented, in order to create an in-depth understanding on the different dimensions of an aquaculture farm and the perceptions of aquaculture farms owners and their laborers. Lastly, the stakeholder perspective theory is presented, in order to be able to clarify and review different visions on aquaculture of stakeholders in the research area.

3.1 The Aquaculture Sector: Drivers, Challenges and Development 3.1.1 Drivers

There are certain drivers, challenges and developments that influence the aquaculture sector worldwide and in India specifically. The drivers of aquaculture for India can be

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categorized in two categories. Namely, global drivers and domestic drivers. The foremost global driver is the process of globalization and favorable economics of larger scale intensive farming, and therefore a large international demand (Bostock et al., 2010). Secondly, domestic drivers of the aquaculture sector in India are a decrease in agricultural production, which encourages labor differentiation and support from the government in some Indian states, through subsidies, as well as rules and regulations, for instance on environmental pollution (Chabukdhara & Nema, 2013). Furthermore, these two domestic drivers are encouraged by a suitable warm climate, which is suitable for high-value shrimp farming with a short production cycle that permits harvesting twice a year. Lastly, India is surrounded by salt water, and this coastline creates many areas of brackish water along the coast that are suitable for aquaculture practices (Bostock et al., 2010).

3.1.2 Challenges

When looking at the near future, there is a strong focus in the aquaculture sector on improving the efficiency of resource usage through management practices and integration, or through more technical solutions made available by developments in engineering and bio-science. The management, as well as the technical approach are considered important, and they are both influenced by wider social and economic factors, such as globalization, urbanization, consumer demand and factor prices (especially energy). Therefore, there are several challenges the aquaculture sector is facing. The challenges for the aquaculture sector are summarized in table 3.

First, internalizing of certain environmental services and goods used by the aquaculture sector, such as brackish water and backwater facilities is necessary. This concept is further explained in the section on sustainable development and externalities. If not, increased competition for natural resources will occur in the near future. Not only among actors in the aquaculture sector but also between other stakeholders in the area, such as the agricultural sector and the fisheries sector, as well as local people. To internalize these environmental services and goods, government intervention might be necessary (Bostock, et al., 2010), especially for intensive aquaculture, such as high-density shrimp farming. Intensive aquaculture puts pressure on the environment through several practices. Namely, hypernutrification and eutrophication, due to an increase in the concentration of suspended solids and dissolved nutrients in water bodies (mainly nitrogen and phosphorous) through the generation of a substantial amount of organic waste, as well as soluble inorganic excretory waste (Jana & Jana, 2008). Furthermore, the effluent water quality from an aquaculture farm is influenced by the degree of production per unit volume of water, as well as water retention time on the farm, depth of the pond, water temperature and water cleaning operations performed on the farm. Intensive aquaculture farming generates up to 31 times more nitrogen load than less intensive aquaculture farming operations (ibid.). Another practice that has to be internalized in that of soil and groundwater salinization. Intensive shrimp culture is known to reduce agriculture production if soil conditions permit saline water to infiltrate agricultural fields through embankments and pond bottoms. Also, abstraction of fresh groundwater for agriculture or other practices are causing salt water intrusion into aquifers along the coast (ibid.). The effluents of intensive farms covering an area of more than 8 ha should be treated in a treatment pond first before being released into coastal waters, since suspended particles settle more rapidly from brackish water than

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from freshwater (ibid.). However, India counts many intensive farms smaller than 8 ha that do not have such treatment facilities. Lastly, the environmental impacts and human health hazards of aquachemicals and therapeutics used in aquaculture have to be internalized. There are several issues concerned with the use of these. Namely, the persistence in aquatic habitats of these chemicals can be months and alter the bacterial flora and sediment process for long after their application. Also, residues of hormones and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in aquaculture products, used in the process of cultivation, form danger to human health and the environment on a global scale. They are toxic, last for a long time in the environment, travel long distances from their source, and increase in concentration in higher trophic levels (ibid.). The environmental impacts of the resistance to drugs used in aquaculture practices need to be internalized, since only 20-30% of the antibiotics used are taken up by the species cultured. The rest reach the environment directly and eventually degrade, leading to selective resistance of native bacteria against certain drugs (ibid.).

Second, the impact of climate change is becoming a major challenge in maintaining aquaculture practices worldwide (De Silva & Soto, 2009; Bostock et al., 2010). Impacts of climate change on aquaculture could occur in a direct or indirect way and not all aspects of climate change are likely to have impact on the sector, since aquaculture practices are defined in space, time and size and have a certain degree of maneuverability. The effects of climate change that are expected to be of impact on aquaculture are: global warming; sea level rise; ocean productivity and changes in circulation patterns; changes in monsoons and the occurrence of extreme climatic events; stress over water availability; and changes in hydrological regimes through atmospheric warming.

Global warming and temperature increased associated impacts can be seen as a major direct impact of climate change. An increase in temperature generates changes in the hydrology and hydrography of water bodies and increases the emerging of algal blooms and red tides, which can be of great impact on aquaculture (De Silva & Soto, 2009). Another potentially direct impact of climate change is saline water intrusion. A significant amount of aquaculture practices take place in deltaic areas of rivers in areas in between the middle to upper levels of tidal ranges. Both fish and shrimp culture practices happen to be in a growth phase and have an extensive effect on the socio-economic status of the community in which the practices take place through job opportunities. However, sea level rise will impact fresh water aquaculture through increased salinity intrusion further upstream of rivers. On the other hand, there is a positive side for aquaculture, since salinity intrusion can make areas unsuitable for agriculture, and simultaneously suitable for aquaculture such as shrimp farming. Shrimp is a much more viable commodity than many agricultural products, but it also comes with more management risks. Furthermore, changes in monsoonal patterns and occurrence of extreme climatic events can potentially be of direct impact to aquaculture in the forms of physical destruction of aquaculture facilities, the loss of stock and the spread of disease (ibid.). There is an increased vulnerability of land based coastal aquaculture near the shore to severe weather, erosion and storms, which can lead to structural damage, escape of stock and the loss of livelihoods of aquaculture farmers (ibid.). Also, downstream delta ecosystems can be categorized as the most sensitive areas, due to upstream changes in the availability and discharge of water, altering the quality of water and the ecosystems in the delta area (ibid.). Lastly, water stress can be of a potential direct impact to aquaculture by influencing the backwater water level and carrying capacity. Decreasing water availability is

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predicted to occur in major rivers in Central, South, East and Southeast Asia and in Africa, areas largely occupied by aquaculture activities (ibid.). This reduce in water availability in deltaic areas, together with saline water intrusion and expected differences in weather conditions and monsoonal patterns raise a great potential risk for aquaculture in these downstream regions (ibid.).

Furthermore, there are several indirect impacts of climate change on aquaculture. These indirect impacts are mostly connected with changes in the feed and seed supply to the aquaculture sector. The foremost indirect impact of climate change on aquaculture is connected with the usage of fishmeal and fish oil supplies in the sector. Fishmeal and fish oil production on an industrial scale is mostly dependent on a small number of species that are fast growing, short lived and very productive stocks of pelagic fish, such as anchovy, capelin, sandeel and sardines (De Silva & Soto, 2009). Climate change is expected to initiate a decrease in the biological productivity of water bodies, and therefore impact the capture fisheries sector. Changes in the productivity of this capture fisheries sector are limiting the raw material available for the fishmeal and fish oil production, on which aquaculture is mainly dependent (De Silva & Soto, 2009). Other feed ingredients used in aquaculture practices are influenced by climate change as well. Namely, soybean meal, corn meal and rice bran, that are now also used for the production of biofuels. Biofuels are expected to be a suitable substitution for fossil fuels, and therefore the prices of ingredients used for biofuels, as well as for aquaculture, have risen. Together with the reduced availability of feed ingredients, this has resulted in economic, as well as social challenges for aquaculture farmers since profit margins in aquaculture are narrow and certain aquaculture activities could become economically unviable (De Silva & Soto, 2009). Next to changes in feed supply, climate change also has impacts on diseases that are threatening for aquaculture and is therefore an indirect impact on the sector. There has been an increase in the degree of eutrophication and harmful algal blooms (HABs) in some oceans over the last twenty years, resulting from changes expected to be initiated by climate change. These HABs affect marine life and human health through the consumption of infected animals. Furthermore, climate change has the possibility of introducing highly competitive species, as well as pathogenic species to new areas through increased water temperatures (De Silva & Soto, 2009). Lastly, it is necessary to point out some of the social impacts of climate change on aquaculture. Most of the aquaculture practices in the tropics and sub-tropics are small-scale businesses that are clustered together in areas suitable for aquaculture production. These clusters are among the most vulnerable in the aquaculture sector to all above impacts by climate change, with the risk of affecting the poor livelihoods of the farm owners and the possibilities of reducing their vulnerability are relatively limited (De Silva & Soto, 2009). Furthermore, as mentioned above, deltaic regions are very vulnerable to sea level rise, water stress and extreme weather events and the possibility exists that existing agricultural land has to be converted into aquaculture to maintain the livelihoods of people living in these areas. Such major livelihood changes involve social disturbances in lifestyle and should be carefully conducted and provided with the necessary capacity building to be effective (De Silva & Soto, 2009). Also, an increase of diseases as an effect of climate change to aquaculture as mentioned above will have major social impacts on small scale producers and workers that are associated with the aquaculture sector, such as unemployment across the sector impacting local economies (De Silva & Soto, 2009).

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Third, the practical limits in terms of scale will become a challenge for the aquaculture sector in the near future. Even though the worldwide demand for aquaculture production is growing and India has a major coastline, there is a limit to the space available for aquaculture practices. This space is limited because the physical areas have to be shared with other stakeholders. Therefore, the occurrence of socio-economic issues with other stakeholders is unable to avoid for the aquaculture sector. However, not only physical scale barriers will become a challenge when upscaling the sector, but also market competition between aquaculture farms, as well as the increase in demand for feed supply for the production process will form a challenge in the near future (Bostock, et al., 2010). The integration of aquaculture, fisheries, agriculture and other production or management activities can play an important role in the future, to overcome limits in terms of scale and sustainable development. Integration of aquaculture with other activities is a cornerstone of the ecosystem approach to aquaculture (EAA) that tries to integrate aquaculture in the wider ecosystem so that it improves sustainable development, equity, and resilience of interlinked social and ecological systems (Bostock, et al., 2010).

Lastly, in order to maintain aquaculture production, the development, and more importantly the acceptance of new bio-engineering technologies by the aquaculture sector form challenges. Whereas wealthier or more developed countries are able to implement these technologies, India lacks some of the requirements for implementation. First, a knowledge gap exists because of minimal education and practical learning in the aquaculture sector. Second, lack of sufficient resources and infrastructure to invest in new bio-engineering technologies form a challenge for small-scale aquaculture ventures to implement these technologies (Bostock, et al., 2010).

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3.1.3 Developments

Development in the aquaculture sector depends on the interaction between a wide variety of factors as presented in table 4. The main factors are market demand, the availability of environmental resources, the development and transferring of suitable, innovative technologies and a supportive business environment that allows entrepreneurs to benefit from their investments made (Bostock, et al., 2010). Furthermore, lack in infrastructure and investment and weak institutional systems can form an important challenge in achieving development.

Table 4: Factors in the development of the aquaculture sector (Source: Muir & Young, 1998)

3.2 Sustainable Development & Externalities

The roots of the concept of sustainable development date back to Thomas Malthus’ ideas of the ‘limits to growth’ (Malthus, 1798) in the 18th_{century, who focused on the interaction}

between the economy and the biophysical environment in case of the availability of agricultural products and land. This was followed by John Stuart Mill (1884), who developed the concept of a ‘stationary state economy’, that idealized economic development without growth. In the 1960’s certain new areas of research were developed, such as environmental science and environmental economics, through the growing awareness of the degree and potential of environmental pollution and the degradation of ecosystems (Steer & Wade-Gary, 1993; Mulder & Van den Bergh, 2001). After that, the Club of Rome (1972) published the report ‘Limits to Growth’, which caused environmental awareness to be a respected concept in society as a whole, as well as the scientific community. However, sustainable development theory gained significant interest through the Brundtland Report (1987), ‘Our

Common Future’ and has been used as the dominant concept in studying the interactions

between the economy and the biophysical environment, and also as a goal in environmental policies ever since (Steer & Wade-Gary, 1993; Mulder & Van den Bergh, 2001).

There has been debates on the precise definition of sustainable development, but there is broad-based consensus that sustainable development means that economic activity should

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take into account the sustainable use of renewable resources, the protection of ecosystem features and functions, the preservation of biological diversity, a level of harmful emissions remaining below certain critical thresholds and the avoidance of irreversible damage to the environment and nature (Daly, 1990). When it comes to the use of non-renewable resources such as oil, the concept of sustainable development is rather difficult to apply and seems inconsistent. Therefore, the main strategy is reducing the use of non-renewables as much as possible and focus on being independent from them as a goal (Mulder & Van den Bergh, 2001).

A concept in line with the theory of sustainable development is that of externalities. Externalities are costs or damages for third parties as a result of economic activity by one or another, without any form of compensation. These externalities can occur when a party does not take into account the effects of their behavior on the welfare of certain individuals. External effects consist of 4 key aspects, namely: the effects are caused unintentionally; the effects are non-monetary; the effects cause costs or benefits; and the effects are a form of market failure, since they are not calculated in the market price (Baumol & Oates, 1998). As stated above, externalities have costs or benefits, these are divided in two groups. Firstly, positive externalities, for instance when a company that establishes itself in an area where earlier companies have developed certain infrastructure, which can be used without investment costs. Secondly, negative externalities, that consist of actions by consumers or producers, which damage other actors, the environment or society in general without any form of compensation. In the latter, the costs of these actions are higher for society, than the private costs calculated by the consumer or producer itself. For instance, in the case of water discharge in a river by a producer, which causes a rise in the price of waste-water treatment the producer will not pay for (ibid.).

In the science of environmental economy, externalities play a major role. Externalities occur rather often in the environment, mostly because of the fact that a so-called ‘tragedy of the commons’ emerges. This means that the environmental resources are open access, and nobody owns property rights, and therefore nobody feels responsibility for their actions. According to the theory of the tragedy of the commons, everyone will use the environment in order to maximize their personal profit, without taking sustainability and thresholds into account.

To conclude, internalizing of external costs is a possible solution in order to counteract negative externalities. There are several forms of internalizing, of which the most common one is regulating externalities through taxing. Furthermore, externalities can be internalized through rules and regulation, for instance through fines and quotas on damaging products, or the creation of awareness on the problems caused by the externalities.

3.3 New venture creation by Gartner

The basic assumption in entrepreneurship research was that all entrepreneurs and new ventures were much of the same. However, Gartner (1985) analyzed the past main entrepreneur researches and concludes that the differences among entrepreneurs and among their ventures are much greater than one would expect. Gartner (1985) organized the many variables that were used in past research to describe entrepreneurs and venture creation and made them into a comprehensive framework as presented in figure 2. The creation of a venture is argued to be a multidimensional process. Each of the four variables

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presented in figure 2 represent only one single dimension of the process and cannot be taken alone in describing a new venture. Gartner (1985) argues that new venture creation is a complex phenomenon, since all actions entrepreneurs take or not take, as well as the environments in which they operate and respond to, differ even so. The framework presented by Gartner (1985) provides the possibility of systematically comparing and contrasting these complex ventures and conceptualize variation and complexity.

However, to be useful for the research, the definition of new venture creation has to be defined. Gartner (1985) uses the following definition provided by Weick (1979): ‘New

venture creation is the organizing of new organizations. To organize is to assemble ongoing interdependent actions into sensible sequences that generate sensible outcomes.’ According

to the Strategic Planning Institute (1978) the definition of a new business venture has to meet one of the following three criteria, it must be:

- 1. An independent entity; or

- 2. A new profit center within a company which has other established businesses; or - 3. A joint venture which satisfies the following criteria:

o Its founders must acquire expertise in products, process, market and/or technology

o Results are expected beyond the year in which the investment is made o It is considered a new market entrant by its competitors

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Figure 2: Variables in new venture creation (Source: Gartner, 1985)

This definition acknowledges the multidimensional aspects stressed by Gartner (1985) in figure 2, since it first mentions that the founders acquire expertise (individual aspect). Second, the new venture is recognized as an organizational entity (organizational aspect). Third, the new venture is not instantaneously established, but grows over time (process aspect). Lastly, the new venture is placed in context to its environment since it has to be considered as competitive and a new source of supply (environmental aspect). With the definition of new venture creation defined, a more in-depth analysis of the framework provided by Gartner (ibid.) can be made.

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The first dimension is that of the individual(s). The persons starting a new organization. From all past research derived, it is possible to conclude that the entrepreneur is perceived to be different in certain important ways from a non-entrepreneur, and many past research stresses that these differences occur through the background and personality of the entrepreneur (ibid.). Psychological characteristics that have been used in many studies and gained some validity in differentiating types of entrepreneurs (Brockhaus, 1982) are

presented in figure 2. Furthermore, researchers that have been looking into the background, expertise and attitudes of different entrepreneurs have come up with several individual characteristics to describe entrepreneurs are also presented in figure 2.

The second dimension in the framework is that of the process. The process defines the dynamic role of the entrepreneur and its actions in order to establish a new venture

(Gartner, 1985). Past research has come up with six common entrepreneurial actions in new venture creation, as presented in figure 2.

The third dimension is that of the environment in which new venture creation takes place. Entrepreneurs do not operate in vacuums, the process of building an organization is always influenced by the responding to the environment in which the process takes place (Gartner, 1985). The idea of push and pull factors by the environment on entrepreneurship has been implemented in research on entrepreneurship and two different perspectives have been established. The first, environmental determinism, considers the environment as a set of conditions outside of the organization, to which the organization must adapt (ibid.). The second perspective, strategic choice, defines the concept of environment as a reality that is moldable through the selectivity of the organizations’ own perceptions (ibid.). In the conceptual framework used in this research, all characteristics considered belonging to the environmental determinism perspective, are linked to the dimension of environment. All characteristics belonging to the perspective of strategic choice are linked to the organization itself, and therefore belong to the following dimension of organization. In past research 22 environmental variables are defined as influencing entrepreneurship and are presented in figure 2.

The last dimension of the conceptual framework provided by Gartner (1985) is that of the organization. The issue with past research is that the focus has been mostly on the

entrepreneur itself, in which the view of the organization being the entrepreneur has been widely adopted. According to Gartner (ibid.) this assumption comes from the following two assumptions: if all entrepreneurs are virtually the same and they all follow the same process in new venture creation, then the organizations created cannot be of any interest

themselves. Only lately differences in types of firm have been suggested to create

differences in the process of new venture creation. As presented above, the characteristics of the strategic choice perspectives are considered part of the organization. Porter (1980) defined three competitive strategies an organization can identify itself with: overall cost leadership; differentiation; and focus. Furthermore, 14 competitive entry aspects influencing the organization have been identified by Vesper (1980): the new product or service; parallel competition; franchise entry; geographical transfer; supply shortage; tapping unutilized resources; customer contract; becoming a second source; joint ventures; licensing; favored purchasing by government; and governmental rule changes. These strategies and aspects are presented in figure 2.

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The use of this four-dimension conceptual framework lies in the possibility of using it as an instrument through which the widely varying patterns of the establishment of aquaculture farms can be analyzed. The goal of using this framework as an instrument is to identify specific variables that are describing for the creation of certain aquaculture farms, in order to be able to reveal contrasts and comparisons between them. In the next section a theory is examined to be able to emphasize with the other side of the spectrum. Namely, the other stakeholders in the surrounding area of aquaculture farms.

3.4 Stakeholder Perspective

In order to gain understanding in the experiences of other actors in the local surroundings of aquaculture farms, it is necessary to first gain understanding in how to identify the

stakeholders present, how to define their role or function and how to separate stakeholders from non-stakeholders. The stakeholder theory developed by Freeman (1984) analyzes a firm as an entity embedded in a number of interactions and relations between parties inside and outside of the organization (Ferrary, 2009). The different interests that stakeholders have towards the firm makes them try to be of any influence in the functioning of this organization in order to achieve a benefit. The definition of a stakeholder that is widely agreed on in the academic field, is that ‘’a stakeholder is an individual or a group of

individuals that claims a share of the value created by the company’s production or holds an interest in the company’s existence’’ (Ferrary, 2009). Frooman (1999) adds to this definition

that parties that own resources essential to the existence of a company, are as well defined as stakeholders. However, this broad definition does not give a clear view on stakeholder identification and the possible relationships between an organization and its stakeholders. Therefore, the article of Mitchell, Agle, and Wood (1997) distinguishes the following important differences in relationship characteristics: a relationship between firm and stakeholders exists; a power dependency exists in which the stakeholder is dominant; a power dependency exists in which the firm is dominant; a mutual power dependency exists between the firm and stakeholder; there is a basis for legitimacy of a relationship; and there is a stakeholder interest in the firm.

Furthermore, classes of different stakeholders can be identified and recognized by the possession of the following attributes: power of a stakeholder to influence a firm, legitimacy of the relationship of the stakeholder with the firm, and the urgency, the degree to which a stakeholder claims call for immediate action by the firm (Ferrary, 2009; Mitchell, Agle, and Wood 1997). These attributes and their corresponding bases are presented in table 5. According to Mitchell, Agle and Wood (1997), power is held by a party to a relationship, to the extent it has or can gain access to coercive, utilitarian, or normative means (see table 5), to inflict its will in the relationship. However, this access is a variable, power can be acquired by stakeholders, as well as lost. Legitimacy refers to the perception that the interests and concerns of a stakeholder are justifiable and of value, and therefore have to be considered as important (Mitchell, Agle and Wood 1997). Lastly, the variable of urgency is based on two different aspects. Namely, time sensitivity, the degree of delay in attending to the

relationship is unacceptable to the stakeholder, and criticality, which represents the importance of the relationship to the stakeholder (Mitchell, Agle and Wood, 1997).

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4. Changes and development in the sector

This section presents the historical changes and developments that have taken place in the aquaculture sector in the northern part of Cuddalore district. It provides an historical overview and a view on the sector, as well as the market today, it elaborates on the licensing process for aquaculture farms and it presents the differences between the northern and southern part of Cuddalore according to aquaculture. Furthermore, the change from individual ownership into partnerships, and briefly, the changes that emerged from aquaculture development outside of the sector itself are given.

4.1 An historical overview on aquaculture in Cuddalore

Respondents argue that aquaculture in Cuddalore started around 1979 by ‘manual farming’. Manual farming is defined as using prawns from the backwater, instead of prawns selected by a professional hatchery. Furthermore, no fertilizers, no special feeding system, and no aerators (see illustration 1) were used (Personal communication, 2018). There is debate on when the Black Tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) was introduced, but most farms that have been interviewed claim that is was in 1989 (Personal communication, 2018). The introduction of the Black Tiger prawn caused aquaculture to develop more rapidly and the sector started to operate on a more industrial scale, because of a growing international demand. Globalization and internationalization of the market for prawn have been a big driver behind this process, since prawn changed from a product for the domestic market to an export product for the international market (Personal communication, 2018). Hatcheries started to develop in India, and technical development started to play a major role in aquaculture (Personal communication, 2018). In 2006 and 2007 there were widespread diseases among Black Tiger prawn all over India. Therefore, a new species was introduced in 2006 (Personal communication, 2018). This species is from an exotic origin and is called the Vannamei prawn, or Whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus Vannamei). The Vannamei prawn requires more intense cultivation than the Black Tiger prawn, and many more sectors are involved in aquaculture in Cuddalore today. The mother prawn (prawn with suitable genes for aquaculture production (Personal communication, 2018)) for the hatcheries comes from the US and/or Germany, lab tests have to be conducted to ensure good quality of the seedlings, fertilizer has to be used to maintain good water quality, soil fertility and disease prevention, feeding systems have been developed to ensure sufficient growth, and because of the export market, several more sectors are involved, such as transportation networks, processing plants, and ice factories to maintain the quality of the prawn (Personal communication, 2018). Next to these external sectors involved, aquaculture has also become more labor intensive with the introduction of Vannamei prawn. Vannamei has to be fed 4-5 times per day, while Black Tiger prawn had to be fed only 2 times per day. Furthermore, Vannamei requires more care than the Black Tiger prawn, through water quality checks, soil fertility checks, sampling and supplementing (Personal communication, 2018). All these extra measures required have led to higher investment costs in the aquaculture sector. Therefore, the establishment of partnerships i.e. farms with several owners, has occurred. Partnerships will be elaborated on later. Not only the investment costs have risen, the output of aquaculture has also risen. According to an expert on aquaculture from the Annamalai University in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu: ‘The density of prawn

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meter. Also, the area on which prawn is cultivated increased. In terms of harvest, this means for instance that a farm went from 2 metric tons output to 20 metric tons output of prawn per cycle.’ (Personal communication, 2018)

This increase in output comes with higher economic, environmental and social risks, of which most will be presented in the section The future of aquaculture in northern

Cuddalore. These risks do not only affect the aquaculture sector, but also other stakeholders

in the area of aquaculture farms. The greatest risk for the aquaculture sector is that of diseases. In Vannamei prawn cultivation the following diseases might occur: White spot

syndrome virus (WSSV); Enterocytozoon Hepatopenaei (EHP); Vibrio; Infectious Hypodermal and Haematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHHNV); Monodon Baculovirus (MBV); and Hepatopancreatic Parvovirus (HPV) (Personal communication, 2018). According to the expert

on aquaculture from the Annamalai University, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu: ‘More and more

domestication will lead to more and more disease outbreaks. This is what happens with monocultures. Monocultures without variation, such as Vannamei prawn in aquaculture leads to a great risk for the farmer, and all farmers in the area. Viruses play a silent role in maintaining a healthy environment. Diseases limit the expansion of aquaculture farms in a natural way’ (Personal communication, 2018). The Coastal Aquaculture Authority has set

biosecurity measure guidelines to prevent farms from being infected by diseases, but these guidelines are not legally binding by law, and often not followed (Personal communication, farm owner, 2018). These guidelines include the process of cluster farming (farms that are geographically close to each other must keep the density of prawns in their pond on the same, safe level, and buy the same quality of seedlings from hatcheries), and crop rotation (Personal communication, expert, 2018).

4.2 Aquaculture farms today

An aquaculture farm today that cultivates Vannamei shrimp can differ in size, but the basic aspects of the farms in the northern part of Cuddalore are the same. A farm normally consists of several ponds, ranging from 2 to 7 ponds. Some bigger farms are equipped with a treatment pond, to treat water that is pumped up from the backwater with bleaching powder (see illustration 5). The smaller farms do not have a treatment pond and use water they pump up from the ground, since this is less contaminated than the backwater (Personal communication, 2018). Most farms have several sheds where feed is kept, the fuse box of the farm is located, and the laborers are living (see illustrations 1, 3 and 4). The different occupations on the farm, without the owner, range from feed boys (see figure 2), to managers, supervisors and a technician who comes by to regulate and manage processes concerning the prawn, water or soil. On bigger farms with more laborers, there is also a permanent cook occupied. No farm has a supervisor and a manager employed, and the distinction in labor functions between the two is vague and differs per farm, so the assumption is that these two terms are used interchangeably. The feed boys and supervisor, or manager, live on the farm. The owner and the technician come by only when needed, for instance for measuring water quality, or sampling prawn size and disease checks.

Salt water influences the soil fertility of a pond. Therefore, lime treatment, fertilizer and vermiculture (using organic matter and worms to restore the soil fertility) are used when the soil fertility of a pond drops below a certain level. When this happens, the restoring pond cannot be used for one year.

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With all recent technological developments, an aquaculture farm can produce a harvest twice a year, or five times in two years. The cycles ideally take up to 130 days, before the prawn is fully grown. Before every cycle, there is one month of pond preparation. According to one of the interviews with a farm owner (Personal communication, 2018): ‘A cycle

performed in winter is riskier. The lower temperature causes a lower food intake for the prawn. This makes them weaker and more vulnerable for diseases.’ However, hardly any time

the cycle completes its ideal 130 days, because they cope with diseases. According to one of the laborers on a farm: ‘A perfect cycle takes 130 days. But most of the time after 60-80 days

there is a disease outbreak and every farm has to harvest within 10 days. Otherwise everything is lost.’ This also makes farms who start their production the latest, economically

the most vulnerable. Their prawns will be less grown than the ones on a farm that started earlier, but their harvest time is the same. Therefore, the smaller prawns will generate less profit than the ones that are more grown (Personal communication, 2018).

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Illustration 2: Aquaculture laborer feeding prawn (Source: Author, 2018).

Illustration 3: Fuse box on an aquaculture farm, from where all the pumps and aerators are controlled (Source: Author, 2018).

Differences in the organization of aquaculture farming in northern Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, India