Fishermen against Indian Marine Fisheries Bill

They urge Centre not to table it in Parliament in its present form

Fishermen submitted a petition at Tirunelveli Collectorate on Monday.

TIRUNELVELI

Condemning the ‘anti-fishermen’ features of the Indian Marine Fisheries Bill 2021, fishermen in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari districts struck work on Monday and submitted petitions at the Collectorates urging the Union government not to table the Bill in Parliament in its present form.

In Tirunelveli district, having 13 coastal villages between Koottapuli and Periyathazhai, more than 5,000 country boats abstained from venturing into the sea. The fishermen, who submitted a petition at the Collectorate, said the Bill proposed to allow fishing operation by the Indian country boat and mechanised boat fishermen up to 12 nautical miles from the shore. Since the fishermen had to venture further in the seriously polluted sea to get a decent harvest, the Bill aimed at crippling them.

The Indian Coast Guard, which had been entrusted with the job of monitoring and imposing fine on the fishermen crossing this limit, would act in an autocratic manner. While entering the territorial waters of another nation led to imprisonment in that country, the proposed Bill threatened the Indian fishermen of incarceration with fine up to ₹ 5 lakh, they said.

The fishermen also came down heavily on the Bill for mandating them to catch fishes of particular species in permitted quantity after obtaining permission from the government.

In Thoothukudi, more than 3,500 country boats and 420 mechanised boats operating from Vembar to Periyathazhai abstained from fishing. More than 500 fishermen came to the Collectorate to submit a petition.

After Superintendent of Police S. Jayakumar held talks with them, their representatives were allowed to meet Collector K. Senthil Raj to submit the petition that appealed to the Tamil Nadu Government to pass resolution in the Legislative Assembly against the Bill. They also sought an appointment with Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to explain to him the ‘anti-fishermen’ features of the Bill.

Dr. Senthil Raj assured the petitioners that he would take up the issue with the government.

In Tharuvaikulam near Thoothukudi, the striking fishermen had tied black flags in the areas where the country boats and the mechanised boats had been anchored. They, while standing in the sea, raised slogans against the Bill and urged the Centre to withdraw it.

“Since the Bill has been moved with the ulterior motive of decimating India’s country boat and mechanised boat fishermen while giving a lot of incentives to fishing trawlers of corporate companies and international firms, it should be withdrawn,” they said.