Sindhudurg’s traditional small-scale fishers provide inputs at community led consultation; provide insights on key challenges and reforms required to safeguard livelihoods
Sindhudurg district’s small-scale and traditional fishing community held the first consultation in Maharashtra for the development of the national plan of action (NPOA) to secure sustainable fisheries. Held at Barrister Nath Pain Sevangan, Chivla village on the 22nd of October, the consultation convened small-scale fishers from fishing villages and societies in Malvan, Devgad and Vengurla. Fishers who primarily fish in the sea using rapans (shore seines) and gill-nets from non-motorised and motorised boats were the main participants of the consultation. Fisherwomen involved in fishing, fish drying and fish vending also participated. This consultation is one of the most important steps in developing the national plan to secure livelihoods rights and security for small-scale fishers. This consultation is part of the process to implement the Voluntary Guidelines for Small Scale Fishers (VG-SSF) which began in 2014, as a bottom-up process by fishers to implement regionally sensitive policies and rules to protect fish resources and livelihoods.
The consultation was divided into three thematic session. Session 1 focussed on defining who is a small-scale fisher, that is, to include community views on who should be included in the development plan. This would determine whose livelihoods would be protected under the NPOA. In this session, there was unanimous opinion that mechanised boats like trawlers and purse-seiners should not be included in the small-scale category. It was also clear that primarily those who were engaged in the direct act of fishing and allied activities from traditional fishing communities and members of fishing societies should be the ones included in the scope of the NPOA.
Session 2 focussed on identifying key issues affecting fish resources and livelihoods and suggesting ways to resolve them. A first theme focussed on the right of small-scale fishers to have legally defined secure access to fisheries resources and legal protections to prevent ongoing and future displacement. The second theme focussed on resolving conflicts in resource management, instituting community-based fisheries management plans and in turn, restoring the environment and fisheries habitats. There were two key findings that emerged from this session: the first is the near total absence of land titles to private and community lands for homesteads, recreation and fishing and allied activities. And second, the rampant disregard for fisheries regulations by the mechanised fishing sector, such as the use of LED lights by purse seiners, small mesh sizes by bottom trawlers and bull trawling by pelagic trawlers. Fishers demand first access to the sea, enforcement of fishing regulations, including curbs on destructive fishing methods, and a process of demarcation of and legal rights over fishing livelihood areas.
Session 3 was subdivided into four themes focussed on: social development, value chain, gender and climate crisis impacts. Social development focussed on health, education, housing, social protection and occupational safety of small-scale fishers. Market linkages focussed on ways to improve the freshness of fish to provide economic boost to fishers livelihoods, including a focus on finance and organisations. The gender theme focussed on bringing the invisbilised labour and crucial roles of women in fishing and inside households to the forefront, in order to improve access to schemes and finance and strengthen their participation in leadership. Finally, climate crisis focussed on tackling the impacts of and improving the ability of small-scale fishers to cope with climate events.
The discussions once again provide insights from fishers that show the importance of the VG-SSF process since they call for a paradigm shift away from the way fisheries are currently managed. At fish landing centres, fish markets and in net making and fish processing areas, access to hygienic and sanitation facilities, drinking water facility and first aid is urgently needed, especially for women. To be able to access markets appropriately, issues of resource management and secure tenure must be ensured first. It is only after securing these that fishers will be able to catch the appropriate fish and sell them in markets, bringing into spotlight the interconnectedness of SSF livelihoods issues. Here the fishers were quite clear that there was a need for solar-powered ice-boxes that keep fish fresher and do not cost them extra. The women provided their views on a series of challenges and solutions: improving working conditions in post-harvest activities, access to healthcare, ensuring nutritional security within households, creating leadership opportunities within organisations, crafting new womens’ collectives and upskilling in value-addition and marketing skills. There is also an urgent need to sensitise and change the views of society which stigmatise fisherwomen when they commute on public transport. Finally, climate crisis related changes call for an urgent range of interventions. While fishers provided inputs on early warning systems, on board radio and satellite communication systems and appropriate insurance schemes, they were firmly of the opinion that protection and restoration of the ecology takes precedence as the first line of action. There was also a novel suggestion made by the fishers to train fishers as climate-responders to be able to utilise local expertise while generating livelihood options.
The consultation was jointly organised by the Maharashtra Small Scale Traditional Fish Workers Union (MSSTFWU), National Federation of Small Scale Fishworkers (NFSF) and Dakshin Foundation with support from the FAO-BOBP and ICAR-CIFE institutions. Representatives from the Sindhudurg district Department of Fisheries and the Mangrove Cell were also present at the consultation. The next consultation for Maharashtra is scheduled in Navi Mumbai on the 1st of November.
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