Team Herald
PANJIM: The National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) has slammed Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, for presenting Union Budget without offering no direct benefits to the country’s small-scale fishers.
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In a statement, NFF general secretary Olencio Simoes alleged that the government is shifting focus away from marine fisheries to non-fishers and aquaculture.
Calling the Union budget a mockery of traditional fishers, Simoes pointed out that the only fisheries-related provisions in the budget was reduction in basic customs duty (BCD) on frozen fish paste (surimi) from 30 per cent to 5 per cent and a BCD reduction on fish hydrolysate for shrimp and fish feed from 15 per cent to 5 per cent.
“Unregulated fishing within 12 nautical miles, combined with the government’s increased focus on the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and high seas, could displace small-scale fishers and encourage industrial fishing in deeper waters,” said Simoes
Highlighting the challenges faced by small-scale fishers, Simoes pointed out that they were caught between arrests by Sri Lankan and Pakistani navies and Chinese boats entering Indian waters and depleting fish stocks.
Expressing concerns over destructive fishing practices such as bull trawling and LED light fishing, which are forcing traditional fishers to venture further into the ocean, the NFF demanded an increase in diesel, kerosene, and petrol subsidies.
