The indiscriminate promotion of capital intensive mechanised fishing was resulting in the massive depletion of fish resources and affecting the livelihood of traditional fishermen, National Federation of Small-scale Fishworkers said.
| Photo Credit: RAJU V
The National Federation of Small-Scale Fishworkers (NFSF) has strongly opposed the ‘Blue economy model of development’, which in essence means handing over the ecological resources to the corporate sector at the cost of traditional small-scale fishing communities.
The delegates at the two-day national working committee meeting, which concluded here on Friday (October 31), deliberated on the indiscriminate promotion of capital intensive mechanised fishing, which was resulting in the massive depletion of fish resources and affecting the livelihood of traditional fishermen. Existing government policies were not only inadequate to compensate for the financial losses, suffered by the small-scale fishermen, at the cost of promoting those who were responsible for massive depletion of fish resources and climate crisis.
Giving details to media persons at the end of the meeting, NFSF president Pradip Chatterjee, general secretary Sebastiao Rodrigues and joint secretary D. Pal, said that the small-scale fishing communities were facing the climate crisis in severe loss of fishing days, loss of lives, boats and nets and habitat destruction and collapse of fish drying activities.
They demanded among other things: protection and restoration of coastal and inland water bodies, including fish resources, protection of the right of small-scale fishing communities to access, use and protect land and fish resources, stopping the destruction of the coast in the name of Blue Economy and stopping over-fishing and destructive fishing practices and methods.
Published – October 31, 2025 09:36 pm IST
