Team Herald
MARGAO: Olencio Simoes, General Secretary of the National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) and Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott (GRE) is representing India at the 8th General Assembly of the World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP) in Brasilia, Brazil, which began on November 14 and will conclude on November 21. He was joined by K Lakshmi, President of the Traditional Fish Workers Union and NFF Executive Member from Andhra Pradesh.
Simoes noted that the previous General Assembly was hosted by the NFF in New Delhi from November 15 to 21, 2017, drawing participants from 50 countries. He highlighted the pivotal role NFF leaders played in the establishment of the WFFP on November 21, 1997, in New Delhi—a date now recognised worldwide as World Fisheries Day.
The NFF delegation’s agenda for the assembly will focus on pressing challenges faced by small-scale fishers in India. Key issues to be discussed include the impacts of ocean grabbing through blue economy projects like the Sagarmala expansion, aquaculture concerns, climate change, women’s rights within fishing communities, and cross-border disputes stemming from the arrest of Indian fishers by Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Additionally, the implications of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) fisheries subsidies agreement will be addressed.