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Not AvailableFish plays an important role in the diet of many cultures. The production from small-scale fisheries provides a major sources of protein in many parts of the world. The role of fisherwomen in nurturing the nutritional security of households is very significant as they are the key home managers in fisher communities. The indigenous knowledge of women in maintining traditional methods of fish preparation is often neglected while documenting the Traditional knowledge in fisheries sector. Their ITKs can be related to the household chores and nutritional value of various dishes. This paper tries to document the indigenous traditional recipes collected from fisherwomen of Kerala, under the ESSO-INCOIS funded project on ‘Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITKs) in marine fisheries sector of Kerala: Analysis and Documentation’ that was carried out in collaboration with Vijnana Bharati, New Delhi. Traditionally prepared fish recipes were documented from 23 women from various districts of coastal Kerala. The fisherwomen have knowledge about nutritional and medicinal values of certain fishes and this are incorporated in their daily diet. For instance, women do not feed children with mackerel during summer as they believe that it can also cause allergic reactions. Cynoglossus spp. locally known as ‘nangu’ is cleaned, covered in banana leaf and kept in fire place. It is popularly referred as ‘nangu vaatiyath’ and is given to ladies soon after delivery as it is believed to heal the internal and external wounds quickly. Some of the typical recipes included Meenada, chaala kothappikkal, choraku curry, koonthal vara, neymeen mappaas, meenitta cheeni are some of the fish delicacies prepared in the household of fisherfolk. It is important to identify, document and validate such information to act as repositories for future studies on nutrition and dietsNot Availabl

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Not AvailableIncreasingly there is a relook are traditional streams of knowledge to understand the underlying science and to see if these can be used to further inquiry in various fields. Traditional knowledge of fishermen is based on their experiences and has undergone refinement through informal experimentations. The paper tries to explore the science behind some of the ITKs collected as a part of the ESSO-INCOIS funded project ‘Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITKs) in marine fisheries sector of Kerala: Documentation and Analysis’ carried out in collaboration with Vijnana Bharati, New Delhi. The methods used for validation were expert consultation and review of published work. Vavaruthy is a local term used by the fishermen to denote the less fish availability during a few days ahead of new moon and full moon. This can be related to the rough water currents. Fish availability is high when low currents prevail and it can be associated to the fish behaviour that fishes tend to congregate in shoals in low water current area. Juvenile shark oil is used by the fishermen as a cure rheumatism. The presence of chondroitin and glucosamine in shark cartilage is responsible for curing osteoarthritis. Fishermen’s knowledge about certain seasonal fish availability, beliefs about consumption of certain fishes, weather prediction and knowledge about physical oceanographic parameters and their effect on fisheries etc. need to be further exploredNot Availabl