Frontiers in Marine Science (Nov 2020)
Extraction of People’s Perception Toward Horseshoe Crab Existence in Northeast Coast of India
Abstract
Understanding local community attitudes toward wildlife and their environment is critical for making sensitive conservation planning and management decisions particularly for conservation-neglected species like Tachypleus gigas. A questionnaire-based interview was carried out on 388 local households from 12 different villages in Balasore, Odisha, between September 2018 and February 2019, which uses a theoretical mapping on attitudes toward horseshoe crabs. We found that 53% of interviewees accepted the presence of horseshoe crabs in their area, 27% have oppressive attitudes, and the remaining 20% were having mixed feelings. Most respondents (>60%) considered horseshoe crabs to bring tangible benefits such as esthetic, monetary, and cultural significance. However, a handful of respondents expressed oppressive attitudes because horseshoe crabs damage their fishing nets (<20%). Both principal component and stepwise analyses revealed that age, gender, and education were demographic components that closely relate local community perceptions toward the conservation-neglected horseshoe crabs that remain threatened by by-catch. We encourage socioeconomic monitoring particularly during rapid economic and infrastructure development to minimize knowledge erosion and to appreciate local ecological knowledge for better conservation management in India.
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