Fisheries secretary launches national plan for small-scale fishers

India has moved into the next crucial phase in the development of the National Plan of Action for small-scale fisheries, taking the country a step closer towards the robust framework aimed at protecting livelihood of millions of small-scale fishers in the country.

Union Fisheries Secretary Dr Abhilaksh Likhi on Tuesday formally launched India’s development phase of the National Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries (NPOA-SSF) suggested by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. The country completed the initiation phase, involving assessment of the sector, stakeholder mapping and legal and governance gap analysis, following a stipulated framework by the FAO.

The final stage will be implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the NPOA to be developed at the present phase. The draft of the NPOA will be published on the occasion of the World Fisheries Day on November 21. This was announced at the valedictory session of a two-day national workshop held in Puducherry to evaluate the first phase of the FAO-guided NPOA-SSF process.

Describing the exercise a crucial step in the development of small-scale fishers of the country, the Fisheries Secretary said that India’s marine fisheries are small-scale, but they are also highly diverse. “The NPOA-SSF must move beyond being a policy document and become a practical framework that delivers meaningful support to the sector—strengthening livelihoods, improving safety, securing access to resources and building resilience among fishing communities”, Dr Abhilaksh Likhi said.