The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Crisis stares at coastal fishermen, says NGO

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Saturday, Feb 16, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Crisis stares at coastal fishermen, says NGO

V. Raghavendra

‘Activity turning out to be inefficient, unsustainable and weak’

Policy aimed at achieving sustainable development needed
Over exploitation of marine fish has become a bane

KAKINADA: The Indian marine fisheries sector has become completely export-driven while the focus is elsewhere. It is the domestic urban trade that is booming, but the Central Government has no proper policy aimed at achieving sustainable development of marine fishing to our own benefit before meeting global demand, says Venkatesh Salagrama, director of Kakinada-based NGO – Integrated Coastal Management (ICM).

He is currently formulating the National Marine Fisheries Sector Study, a collaborative project of the Government of India and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.

Negative factors

Mr. Venkatesh has observed that changes in the fishing sector have increased at a faster pace than the fishers’ ability to cope with them. Their livelihoods have been badly affected by declining access to and availability of fish resources, increasing competition for fishing grounds and in the market place and, most importantly, over-capitalisation of fishing and post-harvest activities.

As a result, the livelihoods of coastal fishers are becoming “progressively inefficient, unsustainable and weak.” Unless proper remedial action is initiated, fishermen and women might join the list of farmers who are getting deeper into crises.

These are serious issues that need to be dealt with urgently, not as an ad hoc measure, but with the long-term vision.

Necessary changes have to be made in the policy framework: the way in which policies are translated into programmes, their implementation and evaluation.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Venkatesh said about 80 per cent of the fishermen still languish in the informal sector while the rest reap the benefits of substantial increase in production. The well-off fishermen too are hit by the law of diminishing returns as they pump in investments. The livelihoods of fisher folk apart, over exploitation of marine fish became a bane (the potential in 2005-06 was 2.2 million tonnes and the catch amounted to 2.86 million tonnes). Moreover, a vast majority of the fishing community is heavily dependent on shrimps and a few other species which are in great demand, whereas the total number of species is 80 plus available at varying depths.

Changing trend

Ours is multi-species trade but neither the government nor the fishermen are tapping the other species due to various reasons.

The government has to quickly conform to the changing trend lest the country should face a serious crisis in the fisheries sector. It might have a cascading effect on the national economy.

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