PROLOGUE
Following country wide protests from traditional fisher folks, the Marine Fisheries (Regulation) Bill (2009) was not tabled in the Parliament. Five years later the Dr. Meenakumari Report (2014), carrying the same objectionable proposals, was released. The Fisheries Bill 2019, currently released, and the Coastal Regulation Zone (Draft) Notification (2018) are to be read together against the proposed mega projects on the Indian coasts including the Sagar Mala. What is most disturbing about the current the Bill is the silence maintained on penalties on violations. The clauses implicitly point the tip of the iceberg.
T
|
he Indian working
class is a scorched cat. The fishermen community could be compared to a sheep
waiting with trepidation for its turn in a butcher’s shop. The fear that is in
them regarding the proposed Marine Fisheries (Regulation and Management) Bill
(2009) is born out of the community’s experiential knowledge.
In the
public meeting held in August 2009 in Chennai. The Union minister for
Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh declared withdrawal of the draft Coastal
Management Zone Notification. He had also assented in the same meeting that a
comprehensive law to protect the marine resources and the rights of the
fishermen would soon be implemented. However, it should be remembered that only
after three long years’ struggle of the coastal people that the coastal
management zone notification draft was withdrawn. The Fisheries Bill has
created a fear equivalent to that brought about by the tsunami.
At first
glance, the bill may appear to affect only the fisher folk whereas it sweeps
over the entire Indian community. The bill affects people who consume fish
protein, small industries connected with fishing and small time export
labourers.
It was
in 2007 that M S Swaminathan’s Coastal Zone Management Notification (Draft) was
brought forth for discussion. This Notification, which carried very attractive
propositions ‘in the interest of the fishing community’, was totally rejected
by the environmentalists and the fisher folk. People were fully aware of the
hidden agenda of the rulers who planned to lay the coastal areas open for
multinational investors by evacuating the fisher folks from their lands namely
the coastal areas. The draft thus repealed following the oppositions shown by a
wide cross section of the society cannot have faded away from the memory of the
common man.
Unlike
the above mentioned draft, which was brought for the public opinion, the
Fisheries (Regulation and Management) Bill (2009 was about to be passed in the
Parliament without public knowledge about it. This move affirmed the fears of
the people about the bill. It was common knowledge that the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) had been pressing
the Union Government to create a law before 1st January 2010, on
marine resources (Regulation and Management). The major importers of Indian
marine food, namely the European Union, have also been evincing keen interest
in the enactment of the same. The Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and
Industries (FICCI) had also been pressurizing the Union Government. The draft
document had been sent for the perusal of the nine maritime states including
Tamil Nadu. However, it had already been looked at by FICCI. However the public
had no access to it. The Tamil Nadu State Government maintained silence till
the end regarding the draft which would certainly affect the fisher folks’
right to livelihood and their future. The Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi
recorded his view “The draft should be placed in the Parliament only after
consulting the fisher folks”, only after various political parties registered
their exposition to the bill.
The
Bill: What is in stock?
The
Fisheries Bill (Appendix) points out as codes the need for regulation and
management procedures. The codes described in this draft should be understood
against the stark realities of fishing to make a living and factory vessels’
operation for profit.
The Bill
terms all kinds of craft engaged in fishing as vessels. The catamarans, country
boats, motorized boats, Mechanised boats, mini trawlers and factory vessels
with facility for onboard processing are categories omitted in the description.
This omission has an implicit agenda.
The bill states that all fishing vessels must take a permit from the
Union Government against a fee. Is this practicable? In the prescribed form for
permit the fisher folks will have to mention when, where, how long, what kind
of gear will be employed and which species will be caught etc. These permit
procedures need to be experimented and reviewed. The permit could be cancelled
in view of national security and management of marine resources. A certain type
of gear could be banned and the permit needs to be renewed periodically. The purpose for which fishing is carried out
should be categorically mentioned. Such
an approach to notify fishing for research, for livelihood or for commercial
purpose is nothing but an attempt to chase the traditional fishermen off the
sea, Fish which is worth more than ten thousand rupees would be ceased.
Resistance of any kind to inspection or confiscation of catch or ceasing of
craft would entail a fine up to ten lakh rupees and imprisonment as the case
may be. The bill just brings to the fore the ignorance about the livelihood of
the fishermen. Imprisonment would be a certainty in the event of fisher folks
crossing the 12 nautical mile (Territorial Waters) limit. There are different
types of fines and imprisonments for different kinds of ‘crimes’ like fishing
variety which are not on the permitted list; for not having the permit
displayed on the ‘vessel’; of course, fining up to Rs. 25000/-. Men who fish
above the permitted value will be taken into custody and the harvest will be
taken away. The Coast Guards are already exercising much more even without a bill of any kind
with them, if a seized boat is to be released, not less than 50% of the value
of the boat has to be paid as fine. Moreover there is no time limit to present
an arrested. The law is at the earliest. It could take weeks. Any boat or fisherman
can be seized or arrested on the basis of a mere doubt, or just as a
precautionary measure. Losses incurred thus due to actions such as taking
possessions. Seizing or arresting cannot be claimed according to the bill. The
fishermen do not even have the right to make an appeal against the actions
taken on the basis of wrong assumptions in a wrong manner. The Coast Guard is
given power to invigilate, search, scrutinize, seize and take possession,
impose fine and arrest. As per this ruling, all the actions taken by the coast
guards are to be accepted for taken with good intentions. This list of
punishments adds to the woe already suffered by the hapless fishermen in the
hands of the Coast Guards. Aspects of the The Maritime Zones (Regulation of
fishing by Foreign vessels) Act 1981 enacted to control the foreign ships are
integrated into this bill. Are the indigenous fishermen looked at as intruders
and terrorists?
The Marine Fisheries Bill (2009) In Essence
· All fishing vessels to be registered with the Union Government. (No discrimination of country craft and factory vessels)
· Prior permission to secured for species to be fished, place of harvest, time of fishing, period of fishing and gear to be used.
· Purpose of fishing needs to specified
· Penalty
for failure to display the permit onboard.
· Coast
Guard is the inspecting and enforcing authority.
=======================================================
No other
ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent has faced such draconian legal
enforcements. Not mentioning the time limit for presenting an arrested before
the judiciary; not allowing the arrested to file an appeal; not permitting the
arrested to register a complaint about the officers are all obviously denial of
basic human rights. There are transgressions of the United Nations human Rights
Understanding and the United Nations Understanding of laws concerning the
coast/sea. The essence of the bill is “The fishermen are not legal citizens,
but are to be pitied by the government. The fishermen can not any more get into
the sea claiming it to be their natural livelihood. They will have to greatly
on the good will of the officers for their living.
To
understand the impact of the Fisheries Bill, one should know about the life of the
ethnic groups that depend on the sea. The 7600 km coastal stretch of Indian
peninsula expands into 200 nautical miles. This constitutes a 2.02 billion
square kilo meter Exclusive Economic Zone. All the wealth in the EEZ, including
fishery resources, can be exploited to the benefit of India. The territorial
waters constitute a frugal 8% of the EEZ.
As per
international convention, up to 12 nautical miles from the coast can be treated
as Territorial waters of the maritime nation concerned. A further 12 Knots from
this line forms the contiguous zone. The 200 Knot margin from the coast marks
the EEZ. Continental shelf extends to another 150 knots from the EEZ. All the
wealth within the EEZ would belong to the respective maritime nations. Only
innocent passage is permitted in the EEZ to foreigners. The Union Government
has permitted the multinational fishing vessels Indian vessels with foreign
investments, to unrestricted exploitation of the nation’s fishery wealth. Since
1990s the Narasimha Rao Government issued licence to the foreign vessels under
the ‘Joint Ventures’ programme of the New Fisheries Policy. In case any
violation was noticed on inspection, the fine to be imposed on these erring
vessels would be a meager Rs. 5000/-. The Indian Maritime Zones (Regulation of
Foreign Fishing Vessels) Act, (1981) remains till date just a paper tiger.
The
control over the nation’s maritime zones is exercised by various agencies of
land. The Union Government agencies as
diverse as defense, trade and commerce, agriculture, environment and forest,
govern the zones beyond territorial waters, which is under the control of the
respective maritime state. The state governments have independently enacted
Fishing Regulation Acts to manage the fishery wealth within the territorial
waters. As for Tamil Nadu, the 1076 Km falls into four regions- the 357 km long
Coramandel region (Pulicat in
Thiruvalloor to Kodiakarai), the 294 Km long Pak region (Kodiakarai to
Danushkodi), the 365 Km long Gulf of Mannar region (Danushkodi to Kanyakumari)
and the 60 Km long western region along the Arabian Sea (Kanyakumari to Neerodi. Of the three lakh
plus Indian craft 16.5% belong to Tamil Nadu. As for as mechanized and
motorized boats, a distance of 12 Knots means only a journey of an hour and a
half. In the northern region the mechanized and motorized boats follow the five
day stay method for fishing. In the Pak region mechanised /motorized boats and
country boats take turns to fish. This means three fishing days a week for a
boat. On the Gulf of Mannar coast, multiday fishing is not allowed. Fishing
fleets venture into the sea on a daily basis only. In the western region, the
mechanised boats and half the number of motorized boats migrate to different
states for fishing for most part of the year. Over 700 mechanised boats from
this region venture into the sea for multi day fishing with long line and/or
gill nets. Each of their fishing trip might extend anywhere between 20 and 35
days. Within this lies the problem of international border with Srilanka. About
34 knots south of Kanyakumari lies the wedge bank known for rich fishery
wealth. For very long time the multinational fishing vessels have been
exploiting the rich fishery resources from this wedge bank with over 10000 square kilometer area. The 12 knot limit
proposed in the Marine Fisheries Bill seeks to forbid the native fishers of
Tamil Nadu from harvesting these resources. The bill shuts the door of future
of not only Tamil Nadu, but the 60000 mechanized fleet of the Indian coast.
Our territorial
waters have rich fish wealth due to the
excessive use of destructive fishing gear for the last 35 years. It is
impossible for the 60000 mechanised fleets and an equal number of motorized
fleets to operate within the narrow strip of territorial waters of 12 knot
breadth. All these fleets operate beyond 12 knots which has consistently
reduced the conflicts and fishing pressure in the territorial waters- a fact
well conceived by the state fisheries departments. Today’s reality about sea
life is that if the fishermen do not cross 12 knots, they have no livelihood. A
mechanized fleet owner- operator of Kanyakumari once told me that they travel
over 800 knots for long lining.
“…We
travel that far, well aware of the dangers involved. We are left with no other
options. A mechanized craft with minimum requirements for a 30 day stay at sea
needs an investment of Rs. 50 lakhs. A single fishing trip costs over Rs. 1.2
lakhs including fuel, ice and rations. For most fleets, it is a joint
investment. We are the owners and operators as well. No banker lends for such
investments. Now where is the logic of fishing under Rs.10,000 per trip and
fishing within 12 knots?”
One can
not but consider the conditions such as the length of the fishing vessels
should not exceed 12m; one should not go beyond 12 nautical miles; the fish
caught by individual fleet should not exceed the value of Rs. 10,000 per trip;
and a fine up to Rupees nine lakhs would be levied on any fleet that transgresses
these conditions cannot but have a hidden agenda.
The
Marine Fisheries Bill will turn our territorial waters into a ground of
conflict between the country craft and the motorized and mechanised fleets. The
traditional fishing community is left with no alternate livelihood options. Little
attention was paid to this issue even in the post tsunami rehabilitation phase.
What will the fisher folks do if the sea is forbidden to them? Where shall they
go if they are chased away from the coast? How would a fisherman who faces sea
storms, face if the land and the sea together accost him? The fisheries Bill is
a Government made tsunami that tosses the Indian fishermen, fish workers and
traders who depend on the sea.
Today,
the fisher folks are thrown between the devil and the deep sea. On one hand
there is there are the Governments that scarcely care for the fishing
communities; on the other hand are the big time traders and industrialists.
Those who use laws as their weapons to chase away the native fishers from their
traditional livelihood and coast in order to plunder the wealth of the seas.
The politicians who make laws to help themselves through the votes guaranteed
by money power are another category to be faced.
The
Deadly Silence
Over 170
factory ships are fishing in Indian waters. Most of them belong to one or other
of the 15 multinational companies. These companies have set their eyes on the
annual potential harvest of over 1,85,000 ton high value fish. They want to get
rid of the traditional fishing fleets from the EEZ. The Fisheries Bill might
facilitate this process.
A
thorough reading of the bill might expose the two main hidden objectives
besides the explicit objects of national security and maintaining good
relationship with neighbouring countries-- one, to hand over our seas to the
multinational factory vessels and two, to provide for market monopoly in fish
trade. One of the most confusing clauses in the bill is the mixing up of
national security with fisheries management. The very idea of investing
excessive powers over the fishermen exposes the intention of the Government.
One wonders how the Coast Guards could carry out the task of fisheries
management. For it what is required is consistent research in fisheries and
economics for an agency to manage and regulate wealth of the seas. The bill
also creates an illusion that the security of the nation lies in chasing the
fishermen away from the seas.
Majority
of the members of our parliament do not comprehend the sea and its management.
The politicians who are in power and the policy making bureaucrats understand
the sea to be flat. To them a catamaran and a deep sea fishing vessel mean the
same. The traditional fishermen reveal a rational fear about the impediment in
fishing that would be created by the completion of the Sethusamudhram Canal
Scheme which would prevent the fishermen from the canal alignment for fishing.
The officials who put forward the Sethu scheme do not seem to perceive this
problem at all. Their proposal is to establish 13 fishing harbours along the
Sethu canal alignment. Adding fuel to the fire, the Government favours only
capital ventures, showing least concern the hapless fishermen. They are being
chased away from their long term abodes like Kutchch island, Jambudweep of
Calcutta, the coastal backwaters of Malwan (Maharashtra). The five southern
districts of Tamil Nadu on its 250 Km coastal length has 1,40,000 fishermen who
would also be prevented from fishing independently if the Sethu Scheme were to
come to fruition. Hence they oppose the scheme. Thus the problems faced by
fishermen here and there occasionally, has grown over the years into a common
problem faced by the entire clan.
The
national census which is carried out every 10 years is going to take place in
2011. How ever the census of the coastal population had started as part of the
coastal security measures a couple of years earlier. It is also said that
fishermen would be issued smart cards in 2009 in the months of November and
December the Coast Guards has harassed the Cuddalore fishermen who were fishing
in the coastal areas to show their identity cards (The Hindu dated 26.11.2009).
Thus
when the traditional fishermen are being evacuated from the coastal areas with
no strong reason the bill screams loud that the deep sea also cannot be claimed
by them. And all doors of livelihood are being closed on the one crore Indian
coastal fishermen. Where will they go? What would happen to the millions of
workers who deal with fish?
On
December 11, 2009 news about the adjournment of the passing of the bill in the
winter session of the parliament was registered. This was just a drama put up
by the state ruling party of Tamil Nadu in view of the by election at
Tiruchendur and the Vandavasi
Legislative Assembly Constituencies on December 19th. The deciding
factors of the elections lay in considerable number with the coastal hamlets of
Tiruchendur. There is no doubt that the rest of the parties tried all within
their power to defeat the ruling party in this election. The meeting of
Dayanidhi Maran with the Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar assumes
political significance in this regard. Sharad Pawar’s assurance that the bill
would be passed only after deleting clauses which would affect the fishermen is
just an eye wash. It is true that nothing much would remain in the bill if
those clauses affecting the fishermen are to be removed. The hangman’s moor is
above the head of the native fisher folks.
Small
Time fishing- Past and Present
Fishing
as a small scale industry is an integrated affair. The Indian fishing industry
is predominantly small scale based. Every single fisherman at sea creates jobs
for another four on land. Industries pertaining to forward and backward
integration like boat building, production of fishing implements, production of
frozen ice, packaging, marketing, distributing, freezing, production of
machinery for the trade, spares and servicing of fishing implements are some of
the trades linked with fish harvesting. Apart from these the fishermen promote
employment through fisheries research, development and management etc. The
traditional fishers engage themselves as families in their avocation.
Today,
the Indian waters lie disturbed by the traffic of foreign vessels and hi-tech
fishing methods. There are about 2,80,000 fishing fleets operating along the 8100
km long Indian coast. Until 50s the Indian fishers used small country boats and
Kattamarans to cruise small distances on the sea, used simple gear to harvest
just enough to meet their minimum survival needs. The distance to which fresh
fish could be reached on a daily basis was a matter of manual effort by fish
vendors. Quick conveyance or storage facilities were hardly available then. The
societal curtain regarding the ‘pollution by fish’ moved thus thrusting on the
fishermen in the 60s mechanised fishing vessels and technologies to cater to
the country’s demand for meat. The desire to move on to the deep sea to fish on
a large scale, to make an economically rich life viable, ruled the mind of
these otherwise simple folk. The market for fish expanded inland and abroad.
Big capital ventures and multinational trading entered the fishing. The hi-tech
camel let itself into the tents of traditional fisheries sector through
trawlers.
The
ever expanding fishing activities caused heavy depletion of fish stock in
pelagic waters. As a result our territorial waters have become grounds of
conflicts and bloodshed. The persistent use of destructive technologies and
mushrooming fleet strength on territorial waters led to frequent law and order
situations. Export driven fish trade has stepped into our coasts. In order to
cater to the needs of the foreign consumers many species of fish like prawns etc
have bid farewell to inland markets. The fish Stock Agreement (1995) of the
food and Agricultural Organisation recommends that the maritime nations should
encourage and facilitate their fisher folks to exploit the fishery resources
available in the deep seas. The fisher folks ventured onto the deep seas with
modern equipments like GPS and fish finders.
The
economy of the small time fishermen is closely linked with the food related
economy of the marginalized people. Earlier, when the fishers cruised a little
way on the sea with country craft to fish and returned with nothing, they were
concerned with livelihood for the day. But today, fishing is capital venture.
Fishermen who buy OBM motor boats investing a few lakhs incur a daily
expenditure on account of fuel for propulsion. For a mechanised fishing vessel
worth Rupees Fifty lakhs, 240 litres of diesel is needed for daily cruise. An
MFV engaged in multi-day fishing in deep seas consumes about 2000 litres. The
logistics of multi-day fishing trip includes ice blocks, drinking water, and
daily ration for the crew which would cost around Rs. One and a half lakhs per
trip. In the traditional fishermen’s economy, a new concept called loss crept
in following modernization. Building a mechanised fishing vessel with a OAL of
50 to 60 feet with winch and electronic equipments like GPS, Fish finder and
radio costs not less than Rs. 50 lakhs. Tamil Nadu coast had a fleet of 6000
such MFVs. The motorized and mechanised craft endure hardships in procurement
of fuel for regular cruises.
Venturing
into the sea is no safer than going to the war front. Communication is crucial
in both the operations. Measures of safety assume critical significance while
on the high seas. The Srilankan fishermen venture up to 800 nautical miles and
often they cross paths with the Indian fishermen. In the deep seas the vessel
can not be anchored using traditional methods. The Srilankan fishers use a
special type of anchor what they call ‘marine parachute’ to hold the vessel
from drifting along the current. They communicate with their fellowmen in their
far away country over a gadget called RTM. The Indian counterparts lack any
such facility. The radio equipment the Indian fishermen use has a range not
more than 20 knots which will little serve the purpose.
The Catch Certificate.
Towards
the end of December 2009, the Marine Products Export Development Authority
(MPEDA) had released a new notification. The directorate claimed that the
notification was released at the European Union’s instance that a catch
certificate must necessarily accompany the fishery product consignments
exported to countries of the European Union. The opening statement of the
notification reads attractive:
“The
Food and Agricultural Organisation and the Indian Ocean Fish Food Association
have made Catch Certificates mandatory in order to sustain fish stock, to
assure a good price for the harvest and to prevent unregistered vessels
plundering the fishery resources of the Indian seas.”
The
European Union has brought into effect the above regulation on fish export from
1st January 2010. What is a Catch Certificate? The union government has
directed the MPEDA to examine the certificate signed by the fishing vessel
owners, traders and exporters who have recorded details regarding fish to be
exported, such as where, when and how the harvest was made, and to grant
permission for export. As a first step, the MPEDA Directorate has distributed
log books to each mechanised fishing vessel.
At
first glance the above notification may appear to be a good effort in the right
direction. But the various factors that determine the hygienic quality of the
catch need to be taken into account. The
gear and method of application, post harvest handling of fish onboard including
storage facility affect the quality of the fish product. Post harvest loss due
to spoilage can be substantially reduced by responsible handling of the catch.
The Food and Agricultural Organisation’s Code of Conduct for Responsible
Fisheries (1995) discusses these clauses in detail. Though these efforts to
regulate the harvest and post harvest activities are scientific, the MPEDA Notification
regarding Catch Certificate has been released in a contentious atmosphere.
There is a song circulated amongst us in the earlier times:
‘In the gardern of
one’s own
A fellow grew
cucumber;
The white man
issued orders
To sell it two a
piece.’
It
is the European countries who import the Indian fish and of course, the
importers do have the right to assess the quality of the harvested fish in
terms of hygiene and nutritional value. But the notification has as its hidden
agenda the danger of thrusting their authority on the third world fishermen and
small time traders. The content of the notification needs to be read word by
word. “… to stop the unregistered vessels which fish illegally in Indian
waters…” is among the main objectives claimed in the notification. The foreign
fishing vessels which have been plundering the valuable marine wealth for the
past 20 years scarcely bring their harvest to Indian shores and the Indian
officials seldom check the operations of these vessels. How then will the issuance
of log books to Indian fishing vessels help prevent the alien vessels from
fishing in our seas?
Traditional
fishermen had been permitted to exploit the fishery wealth of the Exclusive
Economic Zone under The Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive
Economic Zone, and Maritime Zones Act of 1976 (Clause 7, Sub Clause 5). The
code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (1995) of the Food and Agricultural
Organisation (Clause 6, Para 18) advises the maritime nations to ensure the
livelihood of the traditional fishers and prioritise their fishing rights over
the Exclusive Economic Zone. The Fish Stock Agreement (1995) released by the
same agency pointed to the depletion of fishery resources in territorial waters
and recommended that the maritime nations should facilitate/ encourage the indigenous
fishers with modern equipment to harvest the rich deep sea fishery resources.
But in 1990s, the Narasimharao Government introduced the New Fisheries Policy
and under the pretext of ‘Joint Ventures’ issued licenses to foreign fishing
vessels to fish in Indian waters. It rang the death knell for the livelihood of
the traditional fishermen. Today the Government works towards using the
Fisheries Bill for chasing our fishermen from our seas and make them over to
the moneyed. The annual tuna landing by Indian mechanised fishing vessels alone
amounts to 30,000 tonnes. Such catches worth thousands of crores will not reach
our shores any more.
Subsistence Fishery
and Industrial Venture at Cross Roads
The
traditional fishery sector in Asia is predominantly small scale. An Indian
fisherman on an average lands two tons of fish annually. In the west it is 30
tonnes. Their fishing activity is limited to only six months in a year for
reasons of weather. They cite lack of human resource as a reason for harvesting
in six months what should be spread through an entire year. In our country, the
small trading fishermen are sacrificed for the sake of Industrial fishing
vessels. The European Union thrusts on the Indian fishermen the sole proprietorship
of the multinational companies in making big profits. The Indian government is
an accomplice.
A
few illusions continue about fishing vessels with 51% Indian capitals. The
truth is that only big capitalists can own such vessels. The Union government
dispenses fuel to these vessels with foreign capital at manufacturing cost -
lakhs of litres of fuel to each vessel that takes all its harvest to foreign
markets. The mechanised fishing vessels that land all their catch in Indian
coasts receive a nominal fuel subsidy of Rs. 1.50 a litre. Fish export trade
has made little profit. A consignment that fetches Rs. 186 a kilogram in
foreign market is sold at a cost of Rs. 250. Indian economists observe that we
are overflowing with foreign exchange here. Hence there is no grain of truth in
saying that we incur this loss just to earn foreign exchange.
The Indian Fishermen for Rent?
When
over three lakh Indian fishing fleets are forced to restrict their fishing
activities within the territorial waters of 12 nautical miles, this would
create competitions and brawls. Conflicts would arise between artisanal,
motorized and mechanised fleets leading to loss of life and wealth. As a
cascade effect, the indigenous fishermen and their fleets will have to evacuate
the seas. These fishermen who leave their traditional avocation know nothing
but fishing and will not have any trade opportunities on land. It is part of
the scheme of the multinational companies to absorb these fishermen as daily
wage earners / casual labourers, make them fish in their own seas or
engage them in processing the catch for export- thus make an enormous profit by
direct marketing. A Japanese firm has
experimented a year around and they have confirmed that given appropriate
training in the use of modern fishing gear and post harvest handling, the
Indian fishermen would fit in beautifully in the idea of ‘fish for an amount’.
Fishing
for a wage may appear attractive to the fishermen in the present juncture. All
that is harvested would belong to the firms. The owner of the mechanised vessel
may demand up to Rs. 2 lakhs per month towards rent, maintenance, and logistic
costs. The firm would pay a sum for the crew’s rations during the trip - ten
fishermen per vessel at a cost of Rs. 10,000 per month. The crew head might
take more men onboard, but rations and payments are allowed only for ten
workers. The performance of the recruits of the recruits will be periodically
assessed on the basis of the quality and quantity of the catches. In case of
dissatisfaction on the part of the firm, the contract would be terminated with
three months notice.
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The Dateline- the UNCLOS to Marine Fisheries Bill (2009)
==================================================
1898 The Marine Fisheries Regulation Act.
1958, 1960 & 1982 United Nations’ Convention on the
Law Of The Sea (UNCLOS I, II & III).
1959 The Tamil Nadu Marine Fisheries Regulation Act
1972 The Marine Products Export Development Authority Act.
1973 International Convention on the Trade of
Endangered Flora and Fauna.
1976 Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive
Economic Zone and Maritime Zones Act (UN).
1978 Indian Coast Guard Act.
1981 Indian Maritime Zones (Regulation of Foreign Fishing Vessels) Act.
1983 The Tamil Nadu Marine Fisheries Regulation Act (Revised).
1990s The new Fisheries Policy
Joint Ventures (Licensing of Foreign Fishing Vessels)
1991 Coastal Regulation Zone Notification.
1993 United Nations Biodiversity Convention.
1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF)
1995 United Nations’ Fish Sock Agreement (UFA).
2000 Marine Protected Area (MPA).
2001MoEF Ban on 63 marine species including some sharks.
2007 Coastal Management Zone Notification (Draft).
2009 (August) Withdrawal of the above draft.
2009 The Marine Fisheries (Regulation and Management ) Act. ==================================================
The
Japanese effort to have the hired Indian vessels land the catches in Kerala
harbours was futile. The Kerala fish traders are politically strong. Their
trade unions are against foreign companies unloading in their ports what they
have harvested under a special scheme. It is rumored that the Japanese firm has
already taken the permission of the Union Government to land their catches in
Lakhsadweep ports. It must be noted that the investments made by multinational
companies in the contractual fishing is very little. Apart from engaging
industrial trawlers the big time multinational firms cautiously prepare to
plunder the marine wealth by making thousands of Indian vessels their tools for
such an act.
In
the traditional fishing communities, there is no employee- employer
relationship. These ethnic groups have it as a custom to share the harvest
equally. By making a fisherman a contract labourer, newer problems are created
for him. A fisherman who enjoyed freedom in the traditional way of fishing is
made a bonded labourer in a totally new work environment. In the long run it
may lead to reduction of wages in the event of more number of fishermen are
brainwashed into becoming contractual labourers or daily wage earners which
will have severe consequences on their ethnic culture too.
Indian Society Bereft of Fish Protein
Fish.
This is not considered as equivalent to the starch laden grain food. One of the
reasons being fish does not provide sufficient calories. A nation’s food
requirement is measured only in terms of starch food availability. But the
human body cannot thrive merely on starch rich grains and tubers. In addition
protein and lipids are essential.
Sea
fish offers easily digestible high grade protein. Essential amino acids like
Lysine are not present in the rest of the proteins. Fish is a cold blooded and
hence has less fat. This is what makes fish food more easily digestible dietary
component. Fish meat contains some of the highly valuable fatty acids like
Omega – 3- fatty acid.
The
Coastal Management Zone Notification Draft is an example of the kinds of big
benefits that a ruling caste can do to the people in the lower rungs of the
society. The person who drafted this manual in August 2009 which was
subsequently repealed by the Union Government is also an upper class
intellectual. This world reendowed agricultural scientist who swore to save
Indian agriculture and the poor and ended up in doing more harm is M. S.
Swaminathan. His next giant leap in favour Indian coastal communities gave
birth to the Coastal management Zone notification (Draft)it is quite
interesting to note that the brains of such people create disastrous weapons.
If one were to become ineffective, the next would be in all readiness. The
draft was a sweet preamble designed by Swaminathan to the bitter chapter on
chasing the coastal community from its abode. The affluent industrialists need
the coastal lands. They also target the sea wealth. The Fisheries Bill is
prepared with the expectation that if the fishermen were to be chased away from
the sea then they would be automatically move away from the land too.
The
bill is a poisoned weapon to shove lakhs of fishermen off the coastal area. It
is a pyre built to make the rest of lakhs of folks who live on land by fish brought from the sea
commit Sati. It is an economic war waged on people who can not avail nutritive
substitute to fish food.
If the Marginalised Were To Gather…
In
2001 the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests under the Wild Life
(Protection) Act (1972) banned fishing of sharks and 63 other marine species.
However, about 100 fishermen of Thoothoor (Kanyakuamari) agitated in front of
the Parliament and got the ban lifted for shark fishing in a week’s time. This
is historical lesson. Human gets enough courage when they are gripped with fear
for life. And hence, the coastal people will not simply watch the bill which
doesn’t even deserve a debate to be passed. With the coastal people, traders
and others have their livelihood linked with fish would fight. If they do not,
then their future would just remain questionable..
The
Fisheries Bill is the declaration of the European Union. It is just a bubble at
the top of greater and horrendous plans an this is obvious when we see the long
list of conditions and policies like- multinational companies being the pay
master of fishermen for harvesting fish from our own waters for stipulated
wages; fish import from Indonesia; Letter of Permit (LOP) to multinational
companies for fishing in Indian waters… etc. the fisheries Bill is well
discussed, well planned joint scheme. All the justifications that would be
placed to pass the waiting of the vultures for carcasses in the desert sands;
the waiting wolves for the remains of a cheetah’s dinner; the bandicoots which
move around only at night as ethically correct, are also intellectualized in
the case of this bill.
The
shock treatment that would be given by multinational lobbies and the Indian
capitalists to the fishermen and the survivors on fish would be impossible to
get out of. The present and urgent need is to prepare the Indian society to
save itself from this disaster. The correct and legitimate approach should be
discussed.
The
fishermen do not have the strong unified voice that the Dalit and agrarian
communities have. This would be the greatest impediment to the fishermen in
getting back their right to traditional livelihood resources; since they do not
have the language in which they can establish dialogues with the people living
on land, their sorrow ridden coastal life never reaches the land, and sink in
the sea itself. The industrial society is stunned caught in the trap of
proprietorship illusion. The multinational economy compels the people who
struggle to live their every day lives decently to fight for their livelihood
rights. We can hardly perceive a way out
better than by political consolidation of the working class. The Indian sea
tribes who are fighters by nature should learn this from their hillside
counterparts. n
Translated
by Dr.V.Kadhambari (Rajiv Gandhi Foundation).
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