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 already 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 the fisheries departments of the coastal States and UTs to designate a nodal officer or team, organise stakeholder consultations this month, and share the feedback with the National Task Force drafting the NPOA-SSF.

Union Fisheries Secretary Abhilaksh Likhi stated that these consultations are not a formality to be completed before the plan is drafted, but rather 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. Parallel to the State-level exercise, a community-led consultation process is under way, with 14 fisher community and civil society organisations signing a Letter of Cooperation.

Signatories include the National Federation of Small-Scale Fish Workers (NFSF), National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF), South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS), District Fishermen’s Youth Welfare Association (DFYWA), and Mahavir Machchhimar Sahakari Mandali (MMSM). Surabhi Rai, Joint Secretary in the Union Department of Fisheries, noted that these consultations help record the voices of fishers and fish workers so they are reflected in policy. In India, about 30 million people rely on fisheries and allied activities for their livelihoods, contributing significantly to food and nutritional security.

The NPOA-SSF is being developed in line with the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and India’s National Policy on Marine Fisheries, 2017. P Krishnan, Director of BOBP-IGO, stated that the plan will address a broad range of issues affecting small-scale fishing communities, including access to fisheries resources, sustainable fisheries management, decent work, gender equality, climate change, and disaster risk.

The consultations are being conducted in local languages and involve a broad cross-section of fishing communities, including crew and share workers, migrant fish workers, fish vendors, dry-fish processors, and young people. The draft NPOA-SSF is targeted for release on World Fisheries Day, November 21, followed by public review, finalisation, and notification in 2027.