Monetising Misfortune: Blue Economy’s Onslaught on Small-Scale Fishing Communities in India Small-Scale Fishing Communities Reject Government Model of Development

The National Federation of Small-Scale Fishworkers (NFSF) reaffirms its strong opposition to the Blue Economy model of development, which in essence means handing over the ecological resources to the corporate at the cost of traditional, small-scale fishing communities. Large number of ports, logistics corridors and infrastructure, real estate and tourism, nuclear, defence and power infrastructure, oil and natural gas extraction and pharmaceutical industries have been lacerating the coastal ecology. The ongoing ‘India Maritime Week 2025’ conclave is a blatant proclamation of the invasion and occupation of the Indian coast. Hidden behind India’s development and global aspirations lay the exclusion of fishing communities from democratic processes, their expulsion from the coast and the extinction of their way of life and livelihood.

Each and every protest of the small-scale fishing communities is crushed through brutal state repression.

78 years of independence has failed to provide any legal right to the small-scale fishing communities over their livelihood spaces. That includes fisheries resources, coastal lands and waters, rivers, wetlands, reservoirs, lagoons, ponds and tanks. This absence of rights is the main reason that facilitates the transfer of these lands and waters from small-scale fishing communities to corporate entities for profits under the sponsorship of the state.

Indiscriminate promotion of capital-intensive mechanised fishing is running havoc to the marine fisheries resources. Encroachments, pollution, excessive diversion of water from water bodies and use of rivers for huge cargo transportation are similarly affecting both inland and marine fisheries resources. Massive promotion of aquaculture is premised upon the ruin of natural fish resources. Boom of intensive/industrial shrimp aquaculture has destroyed the coastal ecology, which is the resource base of small-scale fishing communities. There are wider concerns in the shift of this short-sighted profit seeking model of intensive shrimp aquaculture from natural or traditional shrimp production, such as depletion of groundwater and threat to public health with food insecurity and nutritional deficiency.

Small-scale fishing communities who are least responsible for the climate crisis are bearing its most severe brunt. The small-scale fishing communities are experiencing the climate crisis in severe loss of fishing days, loss of life, boats and nets, habitat destruction and gradual collapse of fish drying activities, which disproportionately affect women from the fishing community. Existing government policies are not only inadequate to compensate for the financial losses faced by small-scale fishing communities, but also are promoting those most responsible for the climate crisis.

To counter the onslaught on small-scale fishing communities, NFSF demands:

1. Protection and restoration of coastal and inland water bodies, including fish resources;

2. Small-scale fishing communities right to access, use and protect water, land and fish resources;

3. Stop destruction of the coast in the name of Blue Economy;

4. Stop over-fishing and destructive fishing practices and methods;

5. Stop intensive/industrial aquaculture;

6. Stop criminalisation of small-scale fishing communities

7. Climate justice for small-scale fishing communities;

Our Coasts, Our Rivers, Our Wetlands are Not for Sale.

Save Water. Save Fish. Save Fisher People.

Pradip Chaterjee 

President, NFSF

Sebastiao Rodrigues

Secretary, NFSF

D. Pal

Joint Secretary, NFSF & Gen. Secretary DTFWF, A.P

Objections to the Blue Economy assault on Goa’s rivers

Date: February 27, 2020

To,

The Captain of Ports,

Government of Goa,

Panjim, Goa

Subject: Objections to the Blue Economy assault on Goa’s rivers

Sir/Madam,

It has come to our attention from the reports in media that Goa Government through your office is in the process of launching major assault on Goa’s rivers by setting up Jetties in various parts of Goa without holding Public hearing under the pretext that they are floating Jetties. It has also come to our attention that your office is all set to launch another major assault on Goas rivers by initiating dredging of various rivers of Goa like Chapora, Mandovi, Sal, Cumbharjua and Zuari without holding Public Hearings for the same.

Because of irresponsible attitude of your office barges has already created siltation of Goa’s major rivers like Mandovi, Zuari and Cumbharjua and recorded in the minutes of Goa State Pollution Board first meeting held on October 05^th 1988 destroying precious marine ecology of these rivers and still remains in a same state. Your office carried on EIA of Chapora river but why is it not shared with Public?

Because of irresponsible attitude of your office six of Goa’s rivers are declared as National Waterways without consulting fishing communities of these rivers. Because of irresponsible attitude of your office Mandovi river is conquered and assaulted by off shore casinos denying valuable space for small scale fishers.

Dredging is a major assault on marine life and your office is not bothered about it as if no one in your office is eating fish nor your office is bothered about hundreds of peoples engaged in fishing activities in Goa’s rivers. Dredging for Shipping purposes are known to create several problems such as Air and water pollution, sea floor erosion, wave and current regime alterations, introduction of invasive species, underwater noise pollution, land use change, water front congestion, health and labour issues and number of other ecologically destabilizing practices, environmental injustice, unequal power relations and social conflicts. Dredging of Mandovi river by Champions island has damaged marine ecology as informed by local fishermen from Diwar island and several marine species has disappeared.

Your decisions to set up Jetties and dredging of rivers is in violation of Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) India is signatory to SSF Guidelines and has committed to their enforcement via Article 54 of the National Marine Fisheries Policy 2017. It is also violation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): 14 Life under water. Government widened roads to make them six land and destroyed several paddy field and people dependent upon the same. Now your office is determined to destroy livelihood of several more fisher people by destroying marine ecology to promote shipping industry. Shame!

Your are therefore requested to immediately respect Goa’s rivers and its marine ecology, stay away from launching assaults in the form of construction Jetties and Dredging of rivers for Shipping purpose in Goa. Destroying Goa’s rivers by your office will only aggravate situation of hunger that currently stands at 7000 deaths per day as per community kitchen case proceedings in Supreme Court of India.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely,

 Sd/-

Maggie Silveira

President, Goa State & National Council Member of National Platform of Small Scale Fish Workers (Inland)