CZM norms worry fisherfolk

Speakers at a meeting organised here on Friday by the Kerala
Swathantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF) as part of the World
Fisheries Day highlighted the threats faced by the fishermen community
in Kerala and other coastal States. Pannian Ravindran, MP, who
inaugurated the meeting called on the Central government to scrap the
move to replace the Coastal Regulation Zone with the Coastal Zone
Management strategy since it would cause hardships to fisherfolk. He
decried efforts by global players to appropriate marine and coastal
resources. "The government must understand the concerns of the
fishermen who are already facing a threat to their livelihood from
foreign trawlers and big business groups. They should be brought back
to the mainstream of social life," he said.State president of the
KSMTF T. Peter said rapacious real estate groups, tourism ventures,
aquaculture farms, ship breaking units and industrial houses were
vying with each other to appropriate large tracts of coastal belt all
along the country. "The tourism industry has claimed 40 per cent of
the coastal area in Alappuzha. Special Economic Zones pose the biggest
threat to fishermen in Ernakulam. Industries and tourism have
appropriated most of the coastal belt Maharashtra, Goa and
Gujarat".'Political setback'Mr. Peter said the proposed Coastal Zone
Management would spell doom for fisherfolk. He said the UPA government
would face a political setback if it went ahead with the CZM, ignoring
the concerns of the fisherfolk.Referring to the attack on the Ashapura
clay factory in Thiruvananthapuram last week, he said the people in
the coastal belt would resist moves to target them on the incident. He
accused the factory management of misleading the government. "We are
not against development. But developmental activities should not
affect people's livelihood," he said.Deputy chief executive of the
South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies Ansil, former Fisheries
joint director Ravindran Nair and KSMTF leaders Anto Elias, Valerian
Isaac and P.V. Wilson were present.A seminar on CZM and fishworkers
was organised.

The Hindu, 22nd November 2008