This multidisciplinary study documented livelihood opportunities and challenges and searched for answers to the complex issue of resource management in artisanal fishing on the Coromandel coast. Covering the districts of Villupuram, Cuddalore and Pondicherry, this project was based on extensive documentation of artisanal fishing settlements and fisheries.

Management of resources in a sustainable manner requires concerted efforts of the various stakeholders. Fisheries management has several challenges in terms of the resource having the nature of the commons, poor information status, highly varying means of extraction, and contradictions between traditional and formalised systems.

The FIMSUL programme is a coordinated study involving the FAO and the Governments of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry to undertake a detailed analysis of various stakeholders and their livelihoods in the concerned districts of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. FERAL undertook the study in Pondicherry and Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu.