MANGALORE: Fishermen have decided to stop industrial fleet, both Indian and foreign, from entering the Exclusive Economic Zone.

They will take a delegation to Hong Kong, where the World Trade Organisation will hold talks from December 13, to protest against opening up the Indian market to varieties of fish from other countries.

Addressing presspersons here on Thursday after a three-day national annual general body meeting, president of the National Fishworkers' Forum (NFF) Harikrishna Debnath said the issue of licences to import 1,170 types of vessels, including bull trawlers, to various companies would affect the marine fisheries sector. Many of the companies, which claimed to be based in Chandigarh, Bangalore and Delhi, employed workers from Philippines, Maldives and other countries, he added.

He said that at the convention, the NFF urged the Government to invest in the fisheries sector to generate employment. Mr. Debnath said European nations were using non-tariff barriers for protect their fisheries sector.

However, policy lacunae were preventing the Indian Government from doing so, he added.

Members of the European Union were rejecting fish consignments from India stating that they were contaminated. However, the fact was that fish products from India, which were cheaper, were posing a threat to processing centres in Europe.

He said there was a proposal before the Planning Commission to form a ministry for fisheries as it was the largest employment generator after agriculture and the third largest forex earner.

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