01 May 2026
Here are some pointers to what I observed with regard to status of small scale fishers in couple of places in coastal Gujarat during my recent short visit to the State.
1. Decline in fishing catch: I got to speak to fishers near Okha Port. Fishers observed decline in fish catch over past few years. As a result many are going on mechnised fishing vessels as crew. However they return to their canoes during June to August monsoon time fishing ban on mechanised fishing. Why decline in fish catch?
2. Line trawler fishing: Gillnet fishers face disruptions in Arabian Sea waters due to line michanised fishing. In this fishing method around 100 fishing trawlers line up deploy their trawl fishing gear and drag seabed together causing huge fish depletion and damage to Marine ecology. After complaints b local affected fishers Government of Gujarat has banned this type of line trawler fishing. Why do trawlers engage in line fishing?
3. Insecurity of fisher habitats: Fishers whose homes are on Government land are in perenial state on insecurity. If fishers offer any kind of resistance and calls for Justice then the first repressive response of the Gujarat State is to carry on demolishing houses of group of fishers tagging them illegal settlers and even decendents of terrorists with links in Pakistan - a marrative that is synonimous with milking cow of political capital of hatred. Houses on the coast are demolished along with the places of worship. It started against Muslims and then got spread to Hindus too. Demolitions by State in Gujarat is sought to be normalized. So far there are three instances of demolitions that were rolled out since 2024: Bhogat Bandar, Navadra Bandar and Hadsad Bandar. While these demolishing were targeted at Muslims the ones at Rajkot were directed to against Hindus though exact castes remains to be investigated. How religion and caste have weaponsed against fishers? Fish has no religion.
4. Okha Port has triggered demolitions of nearby fushing Jetty used by small scale fishers. Along with Jetties religious structures on the coast are also bulldozed. Here is example which occurred on 30 April 2026: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18N4bSKzpD/ . Okha Port is prenuptial source of spread of air pollution from its handling of Coal, Bauxite Limestone etc. Anyone who walks on the road can get her lungful share. Why Okha Port is so careless? Even pesonell from nearby Indian Navy a facing pollution threats and it has got normalized. Terrible?
5. The most formidable threat to fishing communities in and around Okha has been the dumping of Industrial waste in Arabian Sea within Marine Protected site. Multiple pipelines find the way in waters if Arabian sea releasing high temperature industrial waste almost four kilometers inside the Sea. The industrial plant is known as Tata Chemicals Limited is part of larger Tata investment into Tata Salt city - Mithapur. Fishing has taken a toll. Continues disposal of waste has already covered up more than 5 kms of space from the site of industrial plant inside the Arabian Sea Waters. Mangroves destroyed, Corals submerged. More are under massive threat as Tata tragedy aggrevates. The education level of masses here is deliberately kept at mediocre levels for efficient installation of exploitation structures that comes so close to modern day slavery of humans and barbaric tortures nature. Jobs are weaponised against local residents and chimicals are pumped into lungs too. No one is courageous enough to protest and raise their voice except ex-employer of Tata Chemicals - Devrambhai Charan Ghoda, pastoralist with affinity to Gujjars. Devrambhai has been erupting like volcanos against Tatas and have taken major steps to bring this issue to media and government attention including President of India. He has been on indefinite hunger strike recently when police intervened and stopped his tirade. He plans to resume it again at different site - in front of Gujarat State Pollution Control Board, Gandhinagar. Tatas are carrying on absulute mayhem against Marine ecology and proportions might just push vast patch of Sea onto swamp. Brutality of Tatas here is unexplainable. Thinkness of layers of chemical waste on sea bed more than 20 meters over the eight decades. Tatas can donated so much for the good of nations but here in Gujarat they are destroying the same nation they claimed they are building. Tragic Tatas. What's gone wrong with Tata leadership? Why are Tatas behave so insensitive, so arrogant, so brutal to Arabian Sea, marine ecology and fishers who depend on fishing?
6. Health and Education: I found fishers fave the situation of underdevelopment in terms of education and health infrastructure. Maximum education access is standard X. No colleges are in and around in Okha. The sole college exists only on paper in Government records. No government hospitals are around. One that was functioning was shut down few years ago as the disease began to be recorded in hospital records. Doctoring of reviews was tedious process. So most easiest path was sole option: shut it down! What is the hidden intention Gujarat State to keep fishers in this State of illiteracy, poor health and contented ignorance?
7. River fishing access denied: In Gosabara fishers are stopped from fishing in river at Gosabara. Around 600 fishers are denied access to their traditional fishing river since 2016. River is sought to be demarcated as protected site and site for tourism. This is highly objectionable eco-colonialism and neo-colonialism. Why fishers are treated in this alienating manner?
8. Sea Fishing Permission denied: local fishers at Gosabara are denied permissions for fishing in Arabian Sea from 2016. This reflects deliberate bias in Gurajrat fisheries department functioning. How can this situation be changed?
9. Boat Parking Permission deniad: Local fishers at Gosabara face lots of difficulties due to obstructions created by Fisheries department officials at Porbandar office. Fish Landing permissions are denied at Tukda Gosa, Renewal of license are not done, new registrations are denied. I got to know all this during my visit to Gosabara Boat Landing site. Lethargy and Biases of Gujarat Fisheries office at Porbandar has proliferated problems of SSF and their anxieties too. It was inspiring to witness unity of fishers here! How can we move ahead unitedly and in organise way?
This is the short narrative I share as a mark of Solidarity and call for wide spread unity to Small Scale Fishers of Gujarat, India.
Sebastian Rodrigues
General Secretary,
National Federation of Small-Scale Fishworkers (NFSF)
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