RECENTLY, mood was upbeat among thetraditional fisherfolk of India, as thelong-awaited report by the MurariCommittee on controversial deep seafishing (DSF), came by favouring thestand taken by them. The report,finalised on January 24, has unequivocally opposed the government's DSF Policy of opening up the country'sExclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for bigventures or foreign vessels. Also, thedraft National Fisheries Policy, awaitingParliament's approval, has noted itsreservations on the entry of foreignvessels in Indian coastal waters.
An all-India fisheries strike was heldon January 18. And a demonstration bythe national action committee of severaltrade unions and Central Trade UnionsAgainst Foreign Fishing Vessels - anumbrella body of the NationalFishworkers Forum (NFF) - convenedby Thomas Kocherry of the NFF, apparently hastened the finalisation of theMurari Committee report.
For the time being, the fishing scenario looks calm and untangled. Thehighlights of the report which areexpected to support the country's fishing communities are:
All licences-issued to joint venture, test, and lease vessels should be cancelled immediately
No renewal or extension of such Licences
No deep sea vessels (exceeding 20 m in length) be allowed to fish in coastal waters
An exclusive zone be created for traditional fisherfolk and mechanised boats below 20 m in length - upto 50nautical miles from the shore, or a depth zone of less than 150 m
Financial help for technological upgradation of traditional and small mechanised sectors
Beefing up coast guards to prevent entry of deep sea vessels into coastal waters
However, it is entirely up to the government to accept or reject these recommendations.
The rationale for allowing in foreignvessels was that the Indian deep sea waslargely unexplored. But the draftNational Fisheries Policy pointed outthat against the present estimate of amaximum sustainable yield in the EEZ of3.9 million tonnes, the present catch is1.7 million tonnes, which is 70 per centof the potential.
Supporters of the DSF policy Claimthat the catch in deep seas is anyway tooless to bother about, and too tough forthe traditional fisherfolk to handle. ButKocherry quips, "It is a fallacy to imagine that deep sea vessels will stay withinthe area defined for them."
Global assessment of the issue ofdeep sea fishing has been sombre too.The National Geographic magazinereported in November 1995: "Theannual catch from the sea has peaked atabout 78 million metric tonnes andseems stable so far." In fact, the Foodand Agriculture Organization and otherorganisations have been pushing forstringent fishing regulations and conservation moves for a long time (DownTo Earth, Vol 18, No 4).