CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Monday termed the Marine Fisheries (Regulation and Management) Bill, 2009 as anti-fishermen and said her party would raise its voice against it. In a statement, she accused the Centre for enacting laws only to threaten its citizens. The Opposition leader said that the Bill, slated to be introduced in Parliament soon, would only benefit multinational companies. She said the proposed Bill was in favour of overseas fishing vessels and contained several provisions to arrest, fine and punish fishermen, if they violate certain norms specified in the Bill. The proposed legislation makes licences mandatory for Indian fishermen. It has proposal to levy a huge fine of Rs 9 lakh on fishermen, who go for fishing beyond 12 nautical miles. Jayalalithaa said such draconian provisions would enable officials to take vindictive action against them. “The Bill also enables officials to determine the kind of fishing nets to be used as well as the quantity of fishes that could be caught. There are no restrictions on the overseas fishing vessels,” she pointed out. Criticising Chief Minister Karunanidhi, she said, “if he really has any concern on the well-being of fishermen, he should ask the Centre to withdraw the Bill or withdraw his party’s support to the government.”
