Nagapattinam Deep Sea Fishing Cooperative Tamil Nadu

Nagapattinam in the Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu is one of the largest marine fishing centres on the Coromandel coast, with thousands of mechanised fishing vessels and non-mechanised boat fishing communities operating from the historic port city that was devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The tsunami killed over 6,000 people in Nagapattinam district alone and destroyed thousands of fishing boats and coastal villages. Recovery was significantly shaped by cooperative fisher societies that distributed replacement vessels and fishing gear. Today Nagapattinam fisheries cooperative federation manages mechanised trawler and purse-seine vessel operations for deep-sea catch including squid, ribbon fish, and seer fish. Artisanal fisher communities from Keelakarai, Vettankadu, and Sirkazhi operate traditional craft for near-shore fishing. Nagapattinam salt pans extend along the coast where NTADCO cooperative manages solar salt production. The cooperative fishing sector also intersects with the Cauvery delta rice economy.