Fisheries Bill provisions termed unsustainable

March 20, 2010 01:56 am | Updated 01:56 am IST - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The provisions of the new Marine Fisheries Management Bill that give the Union government jurisdiction over fishing activity that is legally under the domain of the State government are legally unsustainable, the former Judge of Madras High Court, K. Narayana Kurup, has said.

He was inaugurating a national seminar on ‘Future of Indian Fisheries: Emerging Policy Paradigms' organised here on Friday by the Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries of the University of Kerala.

The core of the objections that have come up against the Bill is that fisheries is a State subject and the Maritime Zones of India Act 1976 provides that the territorial waters are under the jurisdiction of the State concerned.

The Bill has been criticised on the ground that it does not take into account the ground realities and the problems of a large section of people who depend solely on coastal fishery resources for their livelihood, Mr. Kurup said.

The fishery reserves should not be thrown open to indiscriminate exploitation by outsiders.

The constitution of a fishing fleet to conserve valuable marine wealth is desirable.

The absence of regulations regarding the size of the craft, gear and engine coupled with indiscriminate trawling by Indian vessels and intrusion by foreign vessels have given rise to problems.

Research has pointed to a need to regulate fishing. Even a moratorium for a period on the building and replacement of mechanised vessels may be imposed to prevent overexploitation.

At the current rate, there is a danger of fish stocks declining to an extent that would render commercial fishing impossible, he said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.