[Reader-list] ‘New fisheries Bill will marginalise fisherfolk’

[T Peter]

*‘New fisheries Bill will marginalise fisherfolk’ *

*Date:17/10/2009* *URL:
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/10/17/stories/2009101760090600.htm*
Special Correspondent

   Thiruvananthapuram: Participants at a seminar organised by the Kerala
Swatantra Malsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF) here on Friday said the new
Marine Fisheries (Regulation and Management) Bill, 2009, and the Coastal
Management Zone notification would lead to the marginalisation of
traditional fisherfolk and leave them at the mercy of corporate interests.

T.D. Velayudhan, former Joint Director, Kerala Fisheries, alleged that the
Union government was allowing its fisheries policy to be guided by corporate
interests. “Fishworkers are an eco-system community, sharing an organic and
historical bond with the sea, and any regulation that restricts this bond is
bound to deeply affect the community as a whole,” he said. He questioned the
directive of the Centre in framing such a law that directly interfered with
the licensing and regulation of fisheries.

T. Peter, State president, KSMTF, who chaired the seminar, said the new Bill
restricting the fishing area to a distance of 22 km (12 nautical miles) from
the coastline would directly impact the livelihood of traditional and
small-scale fishermen who usually venture up to 50 km from the coastline.

“According to the new Bill, if a fisherman crossed 22 km, he would be
immediately detained by the Coast Guard.”