On the heels of Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh’s calls for a ‘Blue Revolution’ and a transformation of the fisheries sector, members of the National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) drafted a note to protect the rights of fishing communities as a reaction to the Meenakumari Report.

“We have gone through the report submitted by the committee headed by Dr. B. Meenakumari… and have serious reservation about various aspects of the report such as earmarking “200 mtr. To 500 mtr. Depth buffer zone (where Indian fishermen will be prevented from fishing), encouraging foreign staff in Indian vessels and allowing foreign fishing vessels in our waters,” said an NFF statement on Monday.

The seven-member Meenakumari Committee had submitted its report in August and its recommendations included deploying 1,178 deep-sea vessels including existing ones, and an additional 270 vessels comprising 240 tuna long-liners, 15 squid jiggers and 15 purseiner boats in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This was in response to an observation that waters beyond the depth of 500 m were not exploited optimally. 

Comprehensive regulations were suggested for implementation of indigenous fishing in the EEZ, as also allowing foreigners to man operations where Indian hands were not qualified.

“We demand that wider consultations with the fisher people and their organisations should be held in all the 10 coastal States and Union territories…before any decision is made on the implementation,” NFF said.

Indian fishermen in Lanka

The forum also took up the issue of five Indian fisherman arrested in 2011 being awarded capital punishment in Sri Lanka. They had set out from Rameswaram and were apprehended by the Lankan Navy and charged with narcotics possession.

Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, however, said that arrangements had been made to transfer the convicted fishermen to an Indian prison. “While we are appreciative of this step, we still hold as our demand that they should be released unconditionally,” read the NFF statement quoting Swamy. 

The NFF also demanded that the Lankan authorities release 82 boats and 24 other Indian fishermen who are interned there. They criticised the swindling of 22 Tamil fishermen by Saudi Arabia-based contractors that had resulted in them being illegally incarcerated in prison there for a year along with a fine of 7,000 Riyal (Rs 1.15 lakh), as also in Iran, where five Indian fishermen were imprisoned this September and had to pay Rs 5.5 lakh fine.

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