NAGAPATTINAM: Fisherfolk in the coastal districts of Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai have been up in arms against the TN Fishing Regulation Act (Amendment), 2020 over the past month. The regulations, such as the ban on purse seining, have divided them into two camps. However, they stand united against the Union government’s Indian Marine Fisheries Bill, 2021.
Their main problem with it is the need for a license to fish in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) or high seas, which, they say, will affect fishermen on all kinds of boats. “We contribute to the country’s economy by our fishing, but will soon be out of work due to the Bill. It’s getting harder to fish every year, and our boats have to keep going further as fish are getting more evasive. Such Bills with unrealistic limitations would push us out of work,” said C Mathiyazhagan, a fisher-representative of deep-sea fishing boats.
Fishermen in motorised boats usually fish around 10 nautical miles (nm), but also venture further due to availability of fish, and weather. Fishermen from Kilvelur and Vedaranyam taluk in Nagapattinam district, who usually fish in Coramandel waters, travel 25-50 nm south towards Palk Strait. Their livelihood is likely to be affected by the Bill.
“We fish southeast of Kodiyakarai as the waters and weather are calmer in the monsoon. But the Bill would consider our traditional boats on a par with merchant vessels,” alleged R Steepan Raj, a motorised boat fisher from Vellapallam in Nagapattinam district. At a time when they are concerned about getting a good enough catch to meet fuel expenses and other basic needs, they fear the Bill would cause them to be incriminated.
P Jawahar, a researcher from the Tamil Nadu Dr J Jayalalithaa Fisheries University in Nagapattinam, said fishermen are right about the changing availability of fish. “Large schools of fish migrate due to factors such as sea temperature, food availability and breeding. This is challenging to predict due to global warming, and hence, fishermen face an increased challenge,” he said.
Another major reason the Bill is being opposed is that it calls for the appointment of Coast Guard officials, and the involvement of a magistrate or judicial magistrate to hear cases of offences. “Not all of them understand fishing and our way of life. There have been instances when the armed forces treated our fishermen with contempt. The Bill would make Tamil-speaking fisherfolk answerable to the Coast Guard, and there are likely to be challenges in communication,” said RMP Rajendra Nattar, a fisher-representative from Nagapattinam.
These authorities would also be empowered to board and search vessels at sea. “Our men have been persecuted by the Sri Lankan Navy and Coast Guard since the 1980s... Now, they are about to face the same fate at the hands of the Indian Coast Guard. The Bill is ‘anti-fisher’ and inhumane,” said National Fishworkers Forum secretary RV Kumaravel.
An official from the fisheries department said, “The State government has taken grave consideration of representations from the fishing community and conveyed the concerns to the Union government.”