Save the rights of inland fishermen, appeals local body

By G Saravanan

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai, on June 16, 2011:

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/biography/save-the-rights-of-fishermen-appeals-local-body/284617.html
CHENNAI: Heaping praise on the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK government for honouring fishermen community MLAs with top posts, the Tamil Nadu Puducherry Meenavar Koottamaippu on Wednesday appealed the state to secure fishing rights at village tanks, local ponds and lakes for the traditional fishermen community.

Speaking to City Express here, G R Apparaj, state president of the association, said, “Securing fishing rights for traditional fishermen at these places would not only help them to earn and lead a decent life, it will also help to sustain inland fish resources for future generations.”

“The existing practice of auctioning of fishing rights at those spots by local bodies has allowed entry of people from non-fishing community, which has ultimately led to pure plundering of fish resources,” lamented Apparaj.

With a view to introducing a new avenue for local bodies to improve their dwindling revenue sources, state government for several years allowed them to auction the fishing rights at village tanks, ponds and small lakes falling under their control.

“With the sidelining of inland fishermen from taking part in the auctioning and with the entry of people from non-fishermen community, it has led to plundering of fish resources and at times, they use unethical methods (like blasts) to catch fish which completely destroy the available resources,” Apparaj said.

If the local traditional fishermen were given the rights, they know when and how to catch fish without affecting the species’ life cycle, he added.To prevail upon the state government on securing the rights, the association members have planned to meet the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa soon.Though no exact details were available with the association on number of ponds and tanks, it has been estimated that the state might be having several thousands village tanks, ponds and small lakes, and they were controlled by local bodies, Public Work Department and also by the Fisheries Department.