Tenure rights for SSF is the need of the hour

Raigad traditional small-scale fishers provide inputs at community led consultation; provide insights on key challenges to and reforms required to safeguard livelihoods 

Raigad 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 small-scale fisheries. Held at Sakav-Pen Praklap-Raigad on 1st of November 2026, the consultation convened small-scale fishers from fishing villages and societies in Uran (Hanuman koilwada, Uran koliwada, Kondegoan, Vindhane, Dighode) and Panvel (Belpada-Jasai, Gavhan, Diwale, Taloja, Vaghiwali, Belpada-Kopra, Kharaghar, Motha-khanda, Roadpali, Peth) block of Raigad district. 

Fishers who primarily fish in the sea using gillnets, cast net, stake net, doll-net 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 sessions. 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. 

Second, the large-scale displacement caused by the establishment of JNPT, CIDCO, and other development projects forced fishers to relocate from their ancestral lands to unfamiliar areas, severely impacting their livelihoods, housing rights, and traditional occupational rights. Consequently, fishers demand prioritized access to the sea, strict enforcement of fishing regulations—including bans on destructive fishing practices—and a formal process for the demarcation and legal recognition of their traditional fishing territories.

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. 

Due to large-scale displacement 40 years ago, small-scale fishers continue to suffer from insecure fisheries tenure, housing instability, disrupted livelihoods, and declining fish stocks caused by industrial pollution. During the last session, stakeholders emphasized that secure tenure and sustainable resource management must be prioritized. Only by securing these foundational rights can fishers harvest effectively and access markets, underscoring the deeply interconnected nature of SSF livelihood issues.

Here the fishers were clear that there was a need for securing livelihood, reducing pollution in estuaries, rights over fishing grounds, fish breeding sites in mangroves areas.

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, strengthening women’s SHGs by providing them various 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 (Food and Agricultural Organization) BOBP (Bay of Bengal Program) and ICAR-CIFE (Indian Council of Agricultural Research – Central Institute of Fisheries Education) institutions.