Fish-Based Aqua-Tourism Centre for Development of Economical, Environmental and Cultural Security- A Case Study at Jasingfaa Aqua-Tourism Centre, Nagaon, Assam, India

Abstract

Recreational or sports fishing is one of the most popular leisure activities which can also be termed fishing for pleasure or competition. It is regarded as one of the leading adventure tourism activities across the world. The most common form of recreational fishing is angling which generates sizeable income for the people where the angling takes place. The angling may take place in both natural and man-made water bodies. Going by the recent trends, recreational fishing is being considered an intrinsic part of eco-tourism which involves exploring scenic locations and experiencing the local cuisine, culture and heritage. Besides providing an opportunity to create income-generating activities, recreational fishing also contributes to conserving natural resources. Looking into the vast and varied fishery resources, Assam has the probability to promote aqua tourism activities as an alternative to adventure and wildlife tourism. This paper, thus, tries to explore and presents a case of a pioneer aqua tourism centre, i.e., Jasingfaa Aqua Tourism Centre, located in the central Assam district of Nagaon, Assam. Angling is a regular sports activity in the centre. Besides regular angling, the centre organises a Fish Festival consisting of an angling competition and other activities once a year following the ‘catch and release’ rule. The PRA tools like interviews and direct observation methods were administered to carry out the study. Jasingfaa is found to have evolved as a successful model of aqua tourism which generates a large number of direct and indirect employment opportunities besides contributing immensely towards nature conservation.