Govt seeks fishers’ views to frame National Plan of Action on small-scale fisheries

India’s efforts to build the National Plan of Action for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (NPOA-SSF) have entered a crucial phase, as the Central Government is spearheading large-scale community consultations across coastal States to seek fishers’ views in framing the plan.

Community-led stakeholder consultations were held at Kakdwip in West Bengal and Baleswar in Odisha, while the Centre requested coastal states and union territories to conduct their own State-level consultations and consolidate fishers’ views for framing 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 fisheries departments to designate a nodal officer, organise stakeholder consultations this month, and share feedback with the National Task Force.

Union Fisheries Secretary Abhilaksh Likhi stated that these consultations are not a mere formality before drafting the plan, but rather where the plan is actually written. Parallelly, 14 fisher community and civil society organisations have joined the process through a Letter of Cooperation, including the National Federation of Small-Scale Fish Workers (NFSF) and the National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF).

Surabhi Rai, Joint Secretary in the Union Department of Fisheries, highlighted that about 30 million fisherfolk in India depend on fisheries and allied activities for their livelihoods. The NPOA-SSF is being developed in line with the FAO's Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries and India’s National Policy on Marine Fisheries, 2017.

P. Krishnan, Director of BOBP-IGO, noted that the plan will address critical issues such as resource access, sustainable management, decent work, gender equality, climate change, and disaster risk. The draft NPOA-SSF is targeted for release on World Fisheries Day, November 21, followed by public review and finalisation in 2027.