The World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement on fisheries subsidies, adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference of the organisation on June 17, will hit Indian fisheries hard and affect the livelihood of around 37 lakh fishers in the country, said experts at a seminar organised by the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (Kufos) here on Tuesday. The Geneva WTO agreement said that all subsidies to the fisheries sector should be stopped within two years.
It was pointed out at the seminar that out of a million fishers’ families in the country, 67% were below the poverty line. These fishers, directly engaged in fishing, get just about 40 to 50 days in a year for fishing after trawling ban and weather warnings which prevent fishing ventures.
The lack of sufficient number of fishing days is one of the key reasons for poverty among the fishing community, according to participants at the seminar. The subsidy provided to fishers by the government is equivalent to $15, and even that is being sought to be discontinued through the WTO agreement, said economist Martin Patrick at the seminar. At the same time, substantial support is provided to fishers in countries like Sweden and the Netherlands.
Former Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) Director B. Sreekumar said it was a contradiction that the WTO did not take into consideration the huge subsidies offered to the fishing sector by other countries, and that the organisation was seeking to end subsidies for fuel and fishing gear in India.
Kufos Vice Chancellor Dr. Riji John inaugurated the one-day seminar organised under the aegis of the Pandit Karuppan Chair in association with the Centre for Field Consultancy and Data Analysis of the university.
