New Delhi, Jan 12 (IANS) Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar Tuesday assured the fishing community that the government would consult them before finalising the Marine Fisheries Regulation and Management Bill, intended to manage and regulate marine fisheries in the country.
Pawar told the leaders of the National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF) that the government would not do anything against the interest of traditional fishermen community, NFF spokesman M.J. Vijayan told IANS.

“Pawar told us that the government would take our point of view into account,” he said.

“We told the minister that if the bill is passed in the present form, it will not only affect more than one million fishworkers, but also have a serious impact on the entire marine resources and conservation,” said Vijayan, who was also part of the delegation led by NFF’s acting chairman and fishermen leader from Goa, Matanhy Saldanha.

The NFF has been staging protest at Jantar Mantar here alleging that there were “serious flaws or gaps” in the draft bill, which has been circulated by the Agriculture Ministry to regulate the marine fisheries with particular reference to the Exclusive Economic Zone.

A NFF statement had called the bill “a much needed piece of legislation as the marine fish resources of India are threatened by over-exploitation and the future of the fishing communities is in jeopardy,” but said the current draft “does not satisfy the aspirations of India’s one million-strong marine fishermen and the 3.5 million-strong marine fishing community.”

The bill has “narrow objectives, limited scope and a lack of vision,” the NFF statement said.