Dr. R. SANTHAKUMARYUMLEMBAM JACKIE SINGH, B.F.Sc.Dr. N.V. SUJATHKUMARDr. K. RATHNAKUMAR2020-10-052020-10-052009https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810152405Hygienic fish handling practices onboard holds a lot of importance since people are mostly concerned about the HACCP in fish processing plants and industries and they are not concerned on hygienic fish handling practices onboard. Proper handling of fish onboard is very essential to keep the fish fresh and safe for human consumption for a longer period of time. Moreover, certain amount of the fish catch is spoiled due to improper handling practices and as such the total fish catch is not fully utilized in terms of both food and resource value. Adopting proper handling practices will serve as an efficient measure to check these problems and eventually will help in enhancing the quality and quantity of fish exported. The present study was carried out to find out adoption of hygienic fish handling practices by fishermen in Thoothukudi district. The villages viz. Tharuvaikulam, Thoothukudi South and Thoothukudi North were selected based on majority of the fishermen involved in fishing activities. One hundred and twenty fishermen were selected randomly from the selected villages and the data were collected through interview schedule and analysed with statistical tools. Most of the respondents were middle age group (47.50%), educated up to middle level (40.83%) and married (96.67%). Majority of the farmers (88.33%) had nuclear family and family size upto 5 members. A total of 61.67 per cent of the fishermen had fishing as primary occupation. Most of the fishermen (58.33%) had medium annual income. Majority of the respondents (84.16 %) listened to radio programmes. Most of the respondents (49.17 %) had medium level of economic motivation and 57.50 per cent of the respondents occasionally participated with fishermen co-operative societies. Majority of the respondents (51.67%) had medium level of mass media exposure and 64.17 per cent of the respondents had above 16 years experience in fishing. Most of the fishermen occasionally had contact with Fisheries Co-operative Society (57.50%), Universities/Colleges (43.33%), Department of Fisheries (25.83%) and NGOs (15.83%). Most of the respondents (65.83%) had medium level of scientific orientation and 68.33 per cent of the respondents had undergone training on hygienic fish handling practice. Majority of the respondents (72.50%) had high level of innovativeness and 55.83 per cent of the respondents had medium level of knowledge. Most of the respondents (54.42%) did not adopt the hygienic fish handling practices while 45.58 per cent of them adopted the practices.EnglishThesis