Team Herald
MARGAO: National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) General Secretary Olencio Simoes has demanded that the Indian government immediately reactivate bilateral dialogue with Sri Lanka and ban destructive fishing practices, following his participation in an international small-scale fisheries workshop in Sri Lanka. Speaking at the three-day event in Minuwangoda, Colombo, Simoes called for India to include local stakeholders in the Joint Working Group and implement stronger legislation against harmful methods such as bottom trawling, pair trawling, bull trawling, and LED light fishing.
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The workshop held recently brought together fishing community leaders from across Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, and North America to discuss issues facing small-scale fisheries globally. A major focus was the transboundary conflicts in Palk Bay—the narrow strait separating Tamil Nadu in India from northern Sri Lanka—where fishing rights have long been contested between the two nations. Simoes highlighted the urgent situation, noting that over 530 boats were seized by Sri Lankan naval forces in 2024 alone, with 119 fishers and 16 vessels detained since January this year.
A dedicated panel discussion on Palk Bay featured prominent voices including Annalingam Annarasa, President of Federation of Jaffna District Fisheries Cooperatives Union, Pradip Chatterjee of India’s National Federation of Small Scale Fishworkers, along with Meera Srinivasan, correspondent for The Hindu in Sri Lanka, and Dr. Ahilan Kadirgamar, senior lecturer at the University of Jaffna.
Simoes further urged the Indian government to fully implement the voluntary guidelines for sustainable small-scale fisheries established by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, to which India is a signatory. He emphasized that such measures would protect the livelihoods of millions of fishers while safeguarding fish as a crucial economic food source, particularly relevant given India’s concerning position at 105th out of 127 countries in the Global Hunger Index.
The workshop, organized by the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers and the Forum for Small Scale Fisheries, reinforced the international commitment to promoting equitable, gender-inclusive, self-reliant, and sustainable small-scale fisheries worldwide.
