Mangaluru : There are many areas where the poets have threaded in the past; there are poems so meaningful and so rhythmic, but little did the poets do for the field of fisheries. Here is a rare fisheries expert at the national level who has penned poems on fisheries that have been published by the Kochi-based Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI). Dr Shivaprakash, a national-level fisheries expert from Mangaluru, has penned these poems—40 in number 20 each—in Kannada and English.

“Most surprising of all, I did not know the CMFRI had published it in a tastefully designed book form; the former director of the institute, Dr. A Gopalakrishnan, took special initiative and interest in publishing it. I had been writing poems on fisheries for some time, and I remember it was in 2004 that I had begun writing poems on fisheries. The collection has been eagerly reviewed by Dr. Gopalakrishnan and found it fit for publishing; it is the 150th book that the CMFRI has published,” Prof. Shivaprakash told Hans India.

The book ‘Technology V/s Ecology’ depicts the challenges that modern fisheries face due to unscientific methods of fisheries, the economy that revolves around fisheries, the ups and downs of capture fisheries and the marine conditions “As an academic, Prof. Shivaprakash’s contributions to the field of fisheries and aquaculture are indisputable, and perhaps it is this deep sense of attachment, passion, and devotion to the sector and its people that motivated him to train his poems exclusively in that realm. A variety of themes such as resource sustainability, conservation, integrated system approach, responsible fishing, nutritional security, livelihood upliftment, cleanliness, and hygiene, and the impact of technologies associated with fishing, fish farming, and marketing were dealt with finesse in these poems to sensitise the masses to their importance.” Dr. Gopalakrishnan says in the preface. “I am truly moved by the collection; I thought it fit not just for a special publication but also dedicate it to the doyen of Indian Marine Fisheries Research, late Dr. EG Silas.” In his foreword for the book, Prof. S. Ayyappan, Chairman of the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), said, “I have known Dr. Shivaprakash right from his college days, initially as a student and later as a faculty member at the College of Fisheries, Mangalore. His interests and skills in various aspects of cultural activities, dramatics, fine arts, etc. were evident even then during the youth festivals and programmes. I learnt of his flair for poetry a few years ago when he recited his fish poems in one of the Fisheries Conferences.”

“These poems were composed primarily to create awareness among coastal fisherfolk of Karnataka. I was privileged to operate an RKVY project as its principal investigator to sensitise fisherfolk to observe FAO’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries in Coastal Karnataka, during which time I came up with the idea to make use of my fisheries poems as an extension tool for better communication in training programmes” Prof. Shivaprakash says. Published both in material and digital forms the book is already become popular among the people in the field and spreading its wings outside as well.