Fishermen demand protection of their rights

Fisherfolk from across the country have demanded a separate Fishers’ Rights Act in order to protect the livelihoods of millions engaged in or depending on fishing.

The demand was made at the recently-concluded national executive committee meeting of the National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF), an national-level umbrella organisation of fishermen, at Thiruvananthapuram.

NFF’s Mangalore-based vice-president Vasudev Boloor, who attended the conference, told

The Hindu that a draft had been prepared highlighting the rights of fishermen and it would be circulated in local languages to the leaders of fishermen’s associations and community members across the country.

He said the rights of fishermen to undertake fishing were being taken away and rules had been amended in such a way that some entrepreneurs or industrialists benefited from it at the cost of the fishing community.

The Coastal Regulatory Zone, 2011 – a set of rules governing land use in coastal areas – which was beneficial for fishermen, had been diluted, he alleged.

Besides promoting tourism on beaches, which obstructed fishermen’s regular activities, there were even instances recorded of big power projects being allowed on the coast, he said.

Though the Ministry of Agriculture had promised not to renew licences of foreign fishing vessels to operate in Indian waters, they were now being issued by the Ministry of Commerce, which had affected not only the livelihoods of local fishermen but had also led to plundering of resources.

While Indian fishermen were more careful in catching juveniles or used them to produce fishmeal, foreign vessels caught juveniles in good measure and dumped the dead ones back into the ocean.

Mr. Boloor said the NFF would hold consultations on the issues of their rights and discuss the definitions to give a final shape to them at a proposed national consultation in March 2014 in New Delhi.

The other demands made at the meet included mapping of coastal villages to identify encroachments on fishing communities by “industries, tourism, and land mafia;” stopping ship-breaking yards which were adversely affecting coastal ecology; enhanced budget for fishing community; and adequate supply of kerosene for fishermen.

The meet also resolved to organise a march in Delhi in March 2015 preceded by State-level conventions.