First, there was the decline in the amount of fish landed by the artisanal fishermen between 1975 and 1980. The fishermen attributed this to the destructive fishing of the trawlers.

			Secondly, as a result of this perception, there were conflicts at sea, and trawlers were attacked. But artisanal fishermen felt that it was not enough to curb the trawlers, they had to fish better too. Mechanical propulsion was the only way to achieve this.

			Thirdly, the government's liberal 1980 import policy resulted in the availability of OBMs in the open market.

			Fourthly, the price of traditional craft spiralled because of the acute shortage of light Wood and large trees. Fishermen who were still using the centuries-old craft design became more open to adopting new models and using new materials became commercially feasible .

			In the first three years of commercial production of the PWBs (1983-85) the order books showed a consistent range of 25 to 35 orders outstanding, with a waiting time of about five months.

			By the end of 1991, a full decade after the first PWB was launched, there were about 2500 PWBs in operation. In the face of increased competition from the private sector, the combined market share of the BBC Muttom and SIFFS yards stood at 50 per cent. There was an exponential increase in the rate at which PWBs were purchased and built during the decade. Of the PWBs in operation in 1991, it took 4.5 years to supply the first 600 boats. The second 600 were built and sold in another 2.2 years. The third and fourth lots of 600 entered the fishery even more rapidly - in 1.5 and 1 years respectively.

			By mid-1985, SIFFS had established two new boat-yards to meet the growing demand. This helped meet the local requirements and resulted in product specialisation between BBC Muttom and SIFFS. Also by 1991, as many as 30 private facilities were building plywood boats, to meet the runaway demand. (A significant number of the small entrepreneurs were once workers in the BBC Muttom and SIFFS yards.) The barriers to setting up a new boat-building venture were minimal. The technology was simple, with minor requirements for both infrastructure and work tools. All the raw materials were readily available in the market and did not have to be purchased in bulk. In good weather a PWB could be built under the shade of coconut palms on the beach.

			A group of NGOs including SIFFS pioneered the introduction of marine plywood boats in 1982. Since then, it has been playing a major role in the promotion and successful spread of marine plywood boats in three districts on Southwest coast of South India. The three districts of Trivandrum, Quilon and Kanyakumari were characterised by rough surf conditions and the availability of a large number of fish species in small quantities, resulting in conditions that favoured small scale diversified fishing operations.

			History of SIFFS Year Events Early 1970s The first society of the SIFFS Network pioneered the concept of daily recovery from the fish sales of members for bank loan repayment. The integration of credit, marketing and savings at the village level, which was the hallmark of Marianad model, formed the basis of all the 100 fishermen societies in the SIFFS network. 1970s Society-bank direct dealings District federations had not evolved. Marianad model reposed the faith of banks in fishermen community and they started dealing directly with the primary societies. Early and mid 1980s Federation as facilitator District federations and subsequently, SIFFS took shape, and they started taking up loan proposals with the higher levels of the bank hierarchy. Banks felt more confident in dealing with federations. Late 1980s and early 1990s Federation as guarantor Rapid motorization of fishing craft in Kerala fisheries sector led to substantial increase in investment in the sector. Individual loan requirements shot up from below Rs. 10,000 to over Rs. 25,000. Banks required a collateral then, which became a problem. Societies and federations started offering organizations assets as collateral. Early 1990s Revolving funds at district level Increasing difficulties in obtaining bank loans and the inability to give adequate collateral forced the federations to develop their own small revolving funds based on grants from donor agencies. Mid 1990s Commercial banks became more conservative in sanctioning rural loans in the post liberalisation period. SIFFS forayed into the micro-credit programme, launched by SIDBI. SIFFS successfully obtained a loan of Rs 14.7 lakhs from SIDBI in 1997 and initiated its credit programme.

			Transfer of ownership of Boat Building Activities The marine plywood boats developed by the NGO partners backing BBC Mutton became instant hit among artisanal fishermen who, threatened by the mechanised trawling boats believed that the new boats could help them motorise their operations. In 1984 SIFFS responded to the increasing demand for plywood boats and forayed into boat building. Objectives  To retain the control of fishermen organizations over the new technology in order to protect the interests of small-scale fishermen via private players.  To spread and diffuse the technology at prices affordable to small-scale fishermen.  To create a permanent institutional mechanism to continue research and development efforts in the field. Activities Through the decades, SIFFS has been continually responding to the changing needs and aspirations of its beneficiaries through following activities.  Setting up boatyards to manufacture different models of boats and undertake repair works.  Conducting research and development on designs of boat models and materials for boat building  Providing training in boat building and maintenance. SIFFSs approach of involving fishermen themselves in the design of the models led to rapid spread of plywood boats in three districts. The extraordinary dynamism of fishermen, reflected in productive use of plywood boats, contributed significantly to extending the area of fishing in the region. Today, SIFFS is a leading player and price leader in plywood boat building market in South-West Coast of India.

			Policy Research and Documentation Educating the policy makers, fisherfolk and other people by entering into dialogues with them is undertaken as part of policy research and documentation. To this end, SIFFS has undertaken many research projects, singly and jointly. Specific Objectives • Promotion of socio-economic, environmental and technical investigation of issues pertinent to fisheries in response to fisheries development and management needs. • Enhance coordination and cooperation between relevant organisations working in fisheries' related activities • Enhance awareness and capacity of stakeholders to ensure sustainable fishery • Raise consensus among stakeholders on approaches to address the sustainable management resources. Programmes • Studies, Surveys and Research • Information Database System of Fishermen Members and Fish Prices

			Documentation Centre & Programs As part of its dissemination programme, SIFFS regularly brings out publications as well as research reports, conducts workshops/seminars, and organizes exchange programmes with the fishermen community and organizations working in the fisheries sector. Fishermen Exchange Programme SIFFS encourages exchange of Technology, skills and information between groups of fishermen. While this has been going on ever since SIFFS was established, there have been several successful examples of exchanges between other southern countries and SIFFS. SIFFS has had several exchanges with the fishermen of Sri Lanka with whom the Indian fishermen share historic ties and also with fishermen of Senegal and Mozambique. Indo-Senegal Exchange Programme Indo-Mozambique Exchange Programme Publications SIFFS has brought out a number of publications on the sector over the years. View list of Publications

			Conclusion The success of the introduction of modern plywood-epoxy stitch and tape boats to South India is of great significance to the situation that Indonesia fishermen now face. Until last year, illegal logging and subsidized fuel have combined to create an unsustainable fish boat infrastructure. Recent changes will force fishermen to adopt new solutions or to find other work. Isolation combined with rising transport costs and a 5 year foreign investment drought have combined to make alternative labor opportunities almost non-existent for most of these island communities. To reverse the declining standard of living in the fisheries sector is of great importance given the large number of people impacted in Indonesia. Many already live in extreme poverty, and it is critical that new technical solutions are developed and tested quickly. It is widely understood that extreme poverty combined with near zero opportunities is a sure recipe for environmental vandalism and other illegal activities. The geophysical nature of Indonesia with over 13,000 islands makes this issue one of great importance for the future stability of the region.