KOCHI: Protest against the draft Marine Fisheries (Regulation and Management) Bill, 2012 and Meenakumari committee report on deep-sea fishing is brewing among fishermen with the state government also expressing dissent and urging the Union government to trash the recommendations in the draft. The fishing folk have called upon the Centre to reject the recommendations as it would hurt the sector hardly.
Fisheries Minister K Babu while speaking at the meeting of Ministers in maritime states had said that many provisions in the Meenakumari Committee report were against the interests of Kerala.“The Expert Committee on Deep Sea Fishing has made 19 major recommendations out of which many of them are harmful to the fishermen of the coastal State of Kerala. More than that, the committee has formulated its recommendations without taking into consideration the views of fishermen, especially traditional fishermen of the state. It has not sought any input from the Department of Fisheries of Kerala and not heard the other stakeholders or officials concerned,” the Minister pointed out in his speech. The Kerala Matsyathozhilali Aikya vedi (TUCI) leaders termed the bill unscientific and unsuitable to Indian situations. “There is not even a definition for fishermen in the bill at the same time the terms master, owner and company are clearly mentioned in the bill. This proves that the Act is not aimed at the welfare of fishermen or conservation of resources but protection of interests of corporates,” said Matsyathozhilali Aikya Vedi state president Charles George.
“Though Meenakumari Committee had the responsibility to form a fishing policy also, the committee did not look into it. Therefore the recommendation framed without the support of a policy cannot be accepted,” he added.All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators Association is one of the fishermen bodies which raised voice against the recommendations and the Bill. They termed the report a welcome note to foreign vessels for hassle-free operation in Indian waters instead of suggesting measures to ensure welfare of the ailing sector and backward fishing community.Association general secretary Joseph Xavier Kalappurakkal said recommendations were made without a systematic assessment of the socio-economic and conservation issues in the sector.
According to him, the fishermen community in all the maritime states and Union Territories should have been consulted to seek their opinion before introducing crucial changes in deep sea fishing policy. The association has also forwarded a letter to the Prime Minister urging him to convene a national meet with MPs, various stakeholders in the sector and leaders from the fisherfolk and other governmental agencies to bring out comprehensive policy guidelines in deep sea fishing under the Letter of Permit (LOP) scheme. “It is high time that a meeting of stakeholders in fishing sector is held,” Joseph Xavier said.