ABSTRACT
The chapter explores the impacts on gendered vulnerabilities and well-being in fishing communities as a consequence of a rapid capitalization of fisheries in the face of growing competition for limited open access resources. The data collected from a survey of households and in-depth interviews with households in Cuddalore District in Tamil Nadu, India, point to visible differentiation, where those who are able to invest reap benefits and others are reduced to a labouring class. A number of young men from fishing communities migrate to raise capital for investment in boats and related technologies in order to retain their status as fishers rather than labourers. New forms of collective organization are emerging to overcome the problem of insufficient capital for investment in boats. Dowry has become a major source of capital and status, potentially with negative implications.
