Introductory Comments: 1. The procedural flaw in the process of draft circulation and opinion collection and absence of stakeholders in the committee appointed for preparation of the draft policy * That the draft was not translated in all the coastal languages and circulated with sufficient time to organise discussions on the same among fish workers. The draft was published on 15.06.2016 and the last date of submission of comments has been 26.06.2016; * That there should have been multiple consultative meetings with coastal fish workers in every coastal state depending upon the length of the coastline of the respective state; * That the committee for preparation and finalisation of the draft should have representatives of fish workers as its members. 2. The need to have a separate ministry for fisheries The largeness of the fisheries sector in area coverage, employment and revenue generation as well as its variegation call for a separate ministry without which the sector cannot be provided with administrative justice. This is all the more necessary in view of the requirements of implementation of the instant national policy. Besides these, the effort taken by the Government of India and CMFRI towards adoption of a new Marine Fisheries Policy is appreciated. It is also noted that some very good general principles and directions have been incorporated in the draft. Further, we are happy to note that some improvements have been made in the 2nd Draft over the 1st one and some of our concerns have been incorporated. All these positive positions deserve to be pursued to develop concrete policies. At the same time we are constrained to mention that some very important points are missing from the draft. Preamble: The preamble to the 2nd Draft Statement on National Policy on Marine Fisheries states, inter alia, that The overall strategy of the NPMF, 2016 will be based on the four pillars of sustainable development, principle of subsidiarity, inter-generational equity and precautionary approach. These four pillars will guide the actions of various stakeholders in meeting the vision set for the marine fisheries sector of the country. This statement should incorporate gender justice as one of the main guiding pillars and should read as in the following The overall strategy of the NPMF, 2016 will be based on the five pillars of sustainable development, principle of subsidiarity, gender justice, inter-generational equity and precautionary approach. These five pillars will guide the actions of various stakeholders in meeting the vision set for the marine fisheries sector of the country. The Chief Concern: Why small and traditional fishing communities should be the chief concern of marine fishing policy? The small and traditional fishing communities are by far the largest primary stakeholders and natural custodians of coastal and marine fish resources. The small and traditional fishing communities are by far the largest primary stakeholders of coastal and marine fish resources. They are also the natural custodians of these resources for the simple reason that good fish needs good water and the small fishers, with their small crafts and passive fishing nets, are essentially engaged in harvesting and not in destruction of the fish resources. While about 87% of the total marine catch comes from near shore areas (0 to 100 metres depth), about 80% of the total marine catch is taken away by the mechanized fishing boats. The fish resources of near shore areas are fully or over exploited. All around the coast the small fishers are shouting that there is no fish. The main causes are a) over and destructive fishing by the mechanized fishing fleet; and b) severe pollution in the coastal waters. Despite raising their voice against destruction of fisheries resources, pollution and activities harmful to fish resources, most ironically, the small and traditional fishing communities are the primary victims of official conservation measures that impose marine and coastal protected areas. These protected areas are declared without any consultation with the small fishing communities, let alone with measures to protect their livelihood. Thousands of fisher people are deprived of their right to livelihood in Sundarban, Bhitarkanika, Gahirmatha, Gulf of Mannar. The women fish workers, about 50% of the total marine fish workers, are further deprived. They and their main working sectors (fish processing and vending) are neglected in government policy. The fish workers working on the mechanized fishing crafts are deprived of labour rights, right to decent work and other entitlements and are most exploited. Marine fishers are facing grave problem on trans-border issues. They are regularly apprehended, jailed, fired upon and even killed while fishing in the waters bordering neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and even Iran. Ports, thermal power plants, industries, large tourism are encroaching upon the coastal areas inflicting shoreline damages and adding pollution to the sea. The beach based small and traditional fishers are facing destitution and are turned into development refugees. Dakshinbanga Matsyajibi Forum suggests the following policy measures to address the above problems A. Fisheries Management: Regulation and related issues There is no marine fishing regulation act for Indian EEZ beyond territorial waters. The territorial waters belong to the maritime states and there are variations in state marine fishing regulation acts. More often than not fishing vessels belonging to one state venture into the waters of other states. All these raise the need to have a National Marine Fishing Regulation Act that will coordinate with the state acts and provide for sustainable utilisation of fish resources with preferential access to the small fishing communities. This should include the following measures 1. Match fishing effort to available sustainable yield: a) The fishing effort should match the sustainable yield. This should be estimated and enforced area wise taking into consideration the specific number, nature and area of operation of fishing crafts. Measures should be taken to first reduce the number of mechanised fishing boats applying the principle of subsidiarity. b) In view of the full or over exploitation of fish resources in near shore area the following measures should be considered i. Moratorium on registration of new mechanised boats; ii. Immediate stoppage of government subsidy, loan etc. for new mechanised boats; iii. For small fishing boats restricting registration to owner operators. 2. Provide prferential access to marine fish resources to small fishers [follow principle of subsidiarity]. Smaller fishers are to have the first right to catch, larger ones are to get the rest. This may be enforced through following measures a) Extend exclusive fishing zone for small fishers upto territorial waters [12 nautical miles]. b) 6 months fishing ban on mechanised fishing, 3 months fishing ban on motorised fishing, no ban on manual fishing. c) Introduce quota of catch for mechanised fishing sector providing for the requirement of the small fishing sector. 3. Ban destructive fishing: i. Introduce total ban on destructive fishing methods like bottom trawling and purse seining. ii. Stop fishing with fish finders and/or LED lights that make fishing very aggressive and indiscriminately destroy the natural fish stock. 4. No foreign fishing vessel – build capacity of Indian fleet for deep sea fishing: In view of the dismal outcome of the LoP scheme and the threat it bears to the Indian fishing fleet the LoP scheme should be discarded and Murari Committee recommendation regarding capacity building of Indian fishing fleet for deep sea fishing should be resorted to. 5. Regulation should start from the top: Since the larger the effort the bigger is the impact, regulations to control and restrict fishing should start from the top. This means the regulations and punishment for their violations should be, respectively, more stringent and severe on larger fishing boats and less on smaller fishing boats. 6. Build and strengthen MCS system: MCS is almost non-existent. Without robust and effective MCS enforcement of regulation is impossible. The Department of Fisheries in the ministry of griculture must work together with the state Fisheries Departments and the stakeholders to put in place MCS system. Coast guard and coastal police should be adequately trained and equipped to strengthen MCS. Most importantly every effort should be undertaken to put in place a community based MCS system. B. Right to Fish in Marine and Coastal Protected Areas: Small and Traditional Fishing Communities’ Right to fish in the marine and coastal protected areas (reserve forests, sanctuaries, national parks etc.) where restrictions and blanket bans on fishing have been imposed without any consultation with the traditional fishing communities (many of whom are tribal or scheduled caste people), have been a very important livelihood issue. Any conservation measure aimed to protect the natural resources should be drawn and implemented with the informed consent and participation of the fishing communities likely to be affected by those measures. Marine fisheries policy should provide for – 1. Recognition of the right to livelihood, i.e., right to fish of the small fishing communities in the waters of the marine and coastal protected areas like Sundarban, Bhitarkanima, Gahirmatha, Gulf of Mannar, Malban etc. 2. Mandatory informed consent of the small and traditional fishing communities before imposition of any restriction on their livelihood for conservation. 3. Adequate compensation and rehabilitation of the affected fishing communities. 4. Mandatory participation of the small and traditional fishing communities dependent on the protected area in the management of the protected area. C. Ratification of ILO Convention 188 for work in fishing – The fish workers of the mechanised fishing boats are the worst exploited. They are deprived of the minimum rights and entitlements to secure their lives and livelihood. Though India has been a signatory to the ILO Convention 188 in 2007, GOI is yet to ratify the same. It is a pity that the draft marine fishing policy has failed to make any reference to this major issue in marine fishing. The marine fisheries policy should make provision for 1. Immediate ratification of ILO convention 188 for work in fishing; 2. Extension of the benefits of the convention to all the fish workers as applicable. 3. Enactment of legislation for statutory implementation of the provisions of the convention. D. Enabling Policy for Uplift of Women Fish Workers The marine fisheries policy should provide for special attention to women fish workers in 1. Development and strengthening of women fish workers’ collectives like cooperatives, SHGs, production groups etc. 2. Infrastructure requirements of women fish workers like drying platform, solar dryers, resting and storage facilities, transport, market etc. 3. Access to finance, technology and marketing. 4. Comprehensive social security including housing, drinking water, life and medical insurance etc. E. Protection for fishers fishing in waters bordering neighbouring countries: The marine fisheries policy should have 1. Provision to provide adequate warning to the fishers regarding national water limits through markers, patrolling vessels and GPS enabled monitoring system. 2. Provision to have negotiated agreement with neighbouring countries regarding cross border fishing and provide protection available under UNCLOS. F. Protection from encroachments and pollution: In view of the rampant encroachments on the coast and severe pollution of the coastal waters the marine fisheries policy should have a special reference to 1. Recognise the necessity of a comprehensive and effective Act on coastal zone to conserve the coastal natural resources and the livelihood of small and traditional fishing communities dependent on those resources. 2. Provide for mandatory consent and participation of the fishing communities and the fisheries department in the sanctioning process of any project on the coast. G. Control Coastal Prawn Aquaculture: Coastal prawn aquaculture has become widespread and is a large source of pollution. It contributes to salinity ingress in ground water and its discharge is affecting marine life. There is almost no regulation on the functioning of prawn aquaculture farms. Government is providing these farms with financial and marketing assistance. The marine fisheries policy should provide for 1. Control over the number and coverage area of coastal prawn aquaculture farms; 2. Ban on intensive and semi-intensive coastal prawn aquaculture; 3. Strict compliance of environmental norms by coastal prawn aquaculture farms. H. Provision for Finance, Infrastructure and Social Security: Finance – The small scale fishing communities including fishers, fish sorters and dryers and fish vendors, due to their lack of finance, are easy prey to money lenders and fish depot owners. They should be provided with easy access to bank finance at soft interest rate. Infrastructure Boats and nets, drying platforms, solar dryers, storage space, light, office space, community room, auction hall, rest room and toilets, roads, transports and markets etc. are the infrastructure requirements of small scale fishing communities. Social Security The small scale fishing communities need housing, life and health insurance cover, old age pension and assistance for children’s education irrespective of their enlistment as BPL or APL. I. Small and Traditional Fishing Communities’ Rights Act: It has become increasingly apparent from both the aggression of encroachments on and pollution in the habitats and fishing areas of the small fishing communities and the loot of the marine fisheries resources by over and destructive fishing that there should be a Small and Traditional Fishing Communities Rights Act to empower the small fishing communities with right to access and protect fish resources, their habitat and use of coastal land and to have infrastructure, finance, market and social security facilities. The National Policy on Fisheries should make a strong reference on this.