Business
Fishermen oppose Meena Kumari report at World Ocean Congress
Kochi, Feb 5
Expressing their strong
opposition to the Dr B. Meena Kumari Commission Report at World Ocean
Science Congress (WOSC-2015) being held here, the fishing community of
Kerala Thursday said implementation of its recommendations would
adversely affect their livelihood and will lead to their displacement.
Participating
in the National Fishermen's Meet held on the sidelines of the
WOSC-2015, the representatives of various trade unions of the fishing
workers said that allowing large fishing vessels to enter into the
deep-sea fishing territory of the local fishermen will adversely affect
the livelihood of the coastal community.
The report, among other
recommendations, calls for a 200 metre to 500 metre depth buffer zone
where Indian fishermen will be prevented from fishing, encouraging
foreign staff in Indian vessels and allowing foreign fishing vessels in
Indian waters.
Speaking on the occasion, Vijnana Bharati
secretary general A.Jayakumar said the government should consider
putting in place a special insurance system for the fishing community,
given the challenges and risks that they face while going for deep sea
fishing.
"A strategy to resolve the issues faced by the coastal
community has to be formulated here and then it should be submitted to
the central government," he said.
The fishing workers'
representatives also stressed on the need for greater interaction
between the researchers and the fishing communisty to help improve the
livelihood of the fishing community.
During the interaction, the
panel comprising experts from the field of maritime technology and
services urged the fishing community members to give suggestions and
feedback on the services rendered by various institutes so that they can
serve them better.
They also stressed that an effective merger
of traditional fishing techniques and the state-of-the-art technologies
will help the growth of the fishing sector.
The experts' panel
comprised Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) director
K.K.Vijayan, K.V. Jayachandran, director of School of Fisheries
Resource Management KUFOS and a few other experts.
The
researchers, during the meet, introduced various technologies and
scientific techniques developed to help the fishing community to locate
ideal fishing spots, stay alert on climate changes and changing fishing
patterns.