Centre seeks fishers’ views on sustainable fisheries plan
India’s efforts to develop the National Plan of Action for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (NPOA-SSF) have entered a crucial phase, with the Central Government spearheading large-scale community consultations across the coastal states to gather fishers’ views as it frames the plan.
The Centre held community-led stakeholder consultations at Kakdwip in West Bengal and Baleswar in Odisha, and asked coastal states and Union Territories to conduct their own state-level consultations and consolidate fishers’ views to frame the plan.
The Union Department of Fisheries is leading the consultation process, with the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO) facilitating and coordinating the exercise.
In a letter, the Department of Fisheries asked the fisheries departments of the coastal states and UTs to designate a nodal officer or team, organise stakeholder consultations this month, and share feedback with the National Task Force drafting the NPOA-SSF.
Over 20 one-day consultations are scheduled across the eastern and western coasts and the island territories.
Terming the exercise central to the framework, Union Fisheries Secretary Dr Abhilaksh Likhi said, “These consultations are not a formality to be completed before the plan is drafted. They are where the plan is written.” “This is intended to ensure that the proposed NPOA reflects the concerns and priorities of fishing communities at the grassroots level,” he added.
