Fishers oppose deep-sea fishing by large vessels
The All India Deep Sea Fishers’ Association is protesting the government's decision to allow large vessels to operate in deep-sea waters. They argue that the policy unfairly burdens small-scale fishers with fees and threatens their livelihoods.
Why it matters
This reflects a broader conflict between industrial-scale commercial interests and the protection of traditional, small-scale fishing communities in India.
The All India Deep Sea Fishers’ Association has warned of a State-wide protest against the Centre’s move to permit large vessels to operate in the deep seas under the guise of issuing access pass to boats.
Representatives of the association said in a communication that they had raised the issue at a workshop related to granting access passes to vessels and boats at the Fisheries Survey of India here on Wednesday.
Charles George, president of the association, said access passes are provided free of cost to trawl boats. “However, deep-sea vessels operating beyond 200 nautical miles have to pay ₹25,000 for access passes. It is not fair to charge fees for these vessels, which are only 20 metres long and part of the small-scale sector. We requested the authorities to provide relaxation for this category,” he said.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in