The central government recently announced that Arambol and Cacra are the two Goan villages that have been chosen as Climate Resilient Coastal Fishermen Villages (CRCFV). It would, however, help to know what lies beneath the fancy title.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), each of the two villages will receive Rs 2 crore for development of essential fisheries-related facilities. The aim of the PMMSY, incidentally, is to integrate all fishermen with agricultural farmers and provide all the facilities available through various farmer welfare schemes to the fishermen.
So how will the CRCFV work? To start out, the facilities that are needed at each of the two fishing villages will be assessed. Thereafter, the cost for development of the facilities required will be deduced based on the local site conditions and the population of fisherfolk in the village. Under the policy, the cost of development will be divided into two - 70% towards setting up infrastructure and 30% towards boosting fisheries-related economic activities.
The activities on which thrust will be laid are the setting up of fish drying platforms, fish markets, ice plants, cold storages etc; and the creation of climate resilient and sustainable livelihood opportunities like seaweed farming, ornamental fish farming and other aquaculture activities. These interventions are aimed at supporting fisherfolk living in these villages.
Also, the policy is expected to promote the dovetailing of funds from other relevant sources for creation of the infrastructure required at the two villages, wherever feasible.
While the intention is noble, what remains to be seen is whether the government will follow through on its promises to enrich the lives of the local fisherfolk. Through the years, especially in the recent past, Goa's traditional fisherfolk have been at loggerheads with the government over a host of issues. Just last month, the fishing community of Benaulim submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant asking him to instruct the fisheries department to allot land to them to carry out their traditional fishing activities. Backed by Niz Ramponkarancho Ekvott, the Cana-Benaulim village panchayat,and local residents, they also came out strongly against the proposed leasing of Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) land for private development.
Last October, Velim's traditional fisherfolk protested against excessive fishing by enthusiasts at the Sal river in Betul. They argued that their livelihood depended on catching riverine fish and that the onslaught of hobbyists in the area had meant that there were fewer fish for them to catch and sell.
A month before that, a fleet of fishing trawlers from Karnataka took Goa's traditional fisherfolk by surprise when they began fishing extremely close to Goa's coast. Agitated, the latter approached fisheries minister Nilkanth Halarnkar and asked why there was no will on the government's part to protect not only Goa's marine wealth but also their livelihood.
Concerns were also raised about bull-trawling and LED fishing - two issues that have been a long-standing grouse of traditional fisherfolk all along the state's coast. Bull trawling involves two boats parallely towing a large fishing net through the water, with both boats maintaining a constant distance from each other to keep the net's mouth open. This controversial method scoops up entire schools of fish, creating a massive amount of bycatch. It also destroys the sea floor because the large nets tend to pull out marine habitation and burrows lying there when they are dragged across by the two boats.
LED fishing involves the use of light emitting diodes to attract fish and catch them. Traditional fisherfolk say these artificial illumination systems vacuum a wide range of marine species and rapidly deplete fish stock, as opposed to the more sustainable pole and line methods that the local fishing communities use.
The government should ensure that these illegalities are first done away with before coming up with lofty policies like the CRCFV. Else it will be all talk and no action on the ground while the state's traditional fishing community continues to struggle and fight for its basic rights and the marine resources in Goa's territorial waters are well and truly finished.