Fisherfolk threaten to gut intrusive foreign trawlers despite India's recent review of its Deep Sea Fishing policy
AS THE May 7 deadline for the review of
the Deep Sea Fishing (DSF) policy by the
P Murari committee drew closer, the
leaders of India's 80 lakh-strong traditional fishing community built up a
tempest against megascale joint venture
DSF projects. Sit-ins and rallies were held
from Paradip to Delhi. On May 2,
Thomas Kocherry, convenor of the
National Fisheries Action Committee
Against Joint Ventures began an indefinite hunger strike at Porbandar in
Gujarat. The slogan was a single-edged
blade: "Cancel all licenses issued to the
joint venture deep sea fishing vessels."
The Murari committee report will
be instrumental in deciding the future
course of fishing in Indian deep waters.
This territory is enviously sought after,
particularly by multinational fishing
giants 'suffering from the shock of massive stock depletion from over-fishing .
The committee was set up in
November 1994 after a countrywide agitation in which fisherfolk
and their traditional rivals, the
small, mechanised boat operators,
clubbed together to harry the larger foreign trawlers from the Indian
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Now, the -National Fishworkers' Forum's (NFF) trepidation
stems from the fact that since it is
not represented on the DSF review
committee, its concerns might be
sidelined. "Once the recommendations
are made and implemented, it would be
too late," says A J Vijayan, NFF's Delhi
spokesperson.
The face-off has slowly been turning
blue around the gills ever since the government announced its new DSF Policy
in 1991, encouraging 100 per cent
export-oriented joint venture projects
and the leasing of foreign vessels for
fishing as well as for resource testing in
the Indian EEZ. Reportedly, 170 licences
were issued. Says P Issar, joint secretary
in the ministry of food processing,
defensively, "Only 36 vessels are in
operation now. No new licences are
being issued." The minister of state for
food processing, Tarun GogoL revealed
in Parliament that the number of foreign flag vessels had come down from
75 in 1991 to 16 in 1994.
The NFF's argument and that of the
organisations representing small, mechanised boat operators is that seawater,
up to 320 krn from the shoreline, cannot
withstand the megascale resource
exploitation by vessels over 20 m in
length. Says Kocherry, "Give incentives
to our own small mechanised boats to
go offshore. Why should we subsidise
largescale exploitation by foreigners?"
The Murari committee holds the
key. The Indian EEZ is seen as a goldmine. The government estimates a
resource potential of 1.69 million
tonnes in Indian seas deeper than 50 m.
The Marine Products Exports
Development Authority (MPEDA)
assures a profit between us $500 million- I billion, provided at least half the
"readily exploit-able resources" like
tuna, sharks, perches, cephalopods and deep sea lobsters and prawns
are exploited.
A ministry-appointed study group
had recommended a massive induction
of 2,630 vessels in the Indian EEZ.
Gogoi's ministry, afraid that such a big
scheme might be driven by adventurism, turned it down. On December 15,
1994, he assured the Lok Sabha, "In fact,
the target for the 8th Plan in this respect
is only 200 vessels."
The NFF points out that the EFZ'S fish
wealth claims are tall, and megascale
piscine exploitation will not be sustainable. There are also genuine fears that
bigtime operators will flout norms.
Warns Kocherry, "Deep sea fishing vessels enter coastal waters in pursuit of
migrating fish shoals. This means trouble f9r traditional fisherfolk."
A Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) study done for the government -of India in April 1992 also questioncd the viability of foreign trawling:
"Theiforeign operators are primarily
seekifig quick and highly lucrative
results... They may therefore leave the
EEZ without having demonstrated anything positive for the local entre.'freneurs." The FAo report notes
that in the early part of the '90s, a
rapidly increasing number of
deepwater trawlers operating off
the Andaman and Nicobar coasts
led to a sharp drop in lobster
catches.
FAO consultant M Giudicelli
also noted that the boat leasing
system can often introduce vessels
too big, too powerful, too costly or
too old for local conditions.
Giudicelli diagnosed that "the invest-
ment of Rs 3,750 million for the DSF fleet
was not economically productive ... The
priority need is resource management."
The government has yet to come up
with a sustainable fishing programme
instead of tired and vague promises.
Says Gogoi, "The government is seriously concerned about the welfare of
traditional fishermen and is totally committed to protecting their interest and
improving their economic condition by
providing greater incentives to them."
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