Study On Marketing And Consumer Buying Behaviour Of Inland Fish (Catla Catla) In Darjeeling District Of West Bengal

Both capture and culture fisheries are a part of the inland fisheries of India. Until the middle of the 1980s, capture fisheries accounted for the majority of inland fish production. But due to the overpopulation of water management systems, indiscriminate fishing, and habitat destruction, fish productivity in natural waters such as rivers, lakes, canals, etc. has been dropping. Due to factors like resource depletion and other factors, aquaculture is increasingly being recognised for its adaptability and promise as a competitive alternative to capture fisheries. The majority of responders to the study had small farms, followed by medium and large farms. The majority of responders are young, followed by older and middle-aged people, according to the data. The research has shown that there In the research area, there were more male respondents than female respondents. It was discovered that the majority of the overall sample belonged to the SC/ST category, followed by the general and OBC categories. In the category of religion, it was discovered that Hindus made up the majority of respondents, followed by Muslims and Christians. In contrast to respondents who lived in nuclear families, it was discovered during the study that the majority of respondents lived in joint families. 19% of respondents were illiterate, whereas the largest number of respondents was literate. Three marketing channels have been identified as being active in the Darjeeling district's marketing of the inland fish Catla. The producer-wholesaler-retailer-consumer channel, Channel III, is the most popular of the three, followed by Channel II,— Wholesaler-Retailer-Consumer is the next channel, followed by Producer-Consumer on channel I, then Wholesaler-Retailer-Consumer on channel II. It has also been discovered that a variety of factors, including physical characteristics, preferred weight, shopkeeper reputation, and pricing, influence consumer purchase behaviour. Eight marketing restrictions that have an impact on the selling of Catla fish in the Darjeeling area of West Bengal are revealed to be High commission fees scored first in responses from 105 respondents, followed by frequent price changes ranked second in responses from 103 respondents. Lack of proper market infrastructure (90 respondents response ranked IV), Lack of Knowledge of New Technologies (87 respondents response ranked V), High Transportation Costs (95 respondents response ranked III), Lack of Knowledge of Government Schemes and Subsidies (85 respondents response ranked IV), and Lack of Awareness of New Technologies (87 respondents response ranked V) 82 respondents ranked VIII, 83 respondents scored VII for a lack of amenities and facilities in market subsidies, and 83 respondents ranked VI for a lack of cooperative marketing society at the village level.