Mangrove ecosystems are valuable due to the several direct and indirect services humankind derive from it. The general stability of a coastal system, including that of its socio-economic and biophysical environment, depends on the nature of human-mangrove relationships. But official conservation strategies very often intervene in the process by imposing restrictions on fishing and mangrove use. The present study analyses and quantifies the socio-economic impact of such restrictions on local economic activities and per capita income of a mangrove dependant coastal population on the east coast of India. Restrictions have led to instability of the local economy in the concerned villages, which may pose a risk of further denudation of forests, making the goal of a holistic management approach even further unrealisable.
