India’s southern coast has long been famous for its cantilevered Chinese fishing nets, one of Kerala’s main tourist attraction. However, peaceful fishing scenes such as the one pictured on the coast of Fort Cochin in Kerala, are becoming increasingly rare. From Gujarat to South India, coastal fishermen and their communities are facing serious threats to their livelihoods from all directions due to environmental and economic pressures.
Earlier this month, the Times of India reported that high tides have wreaked havoc on a number of coastal villages in Valsad, Gujarat. Over 50% of the inhabitants of these villages have fled for safety as the sea continues to encroach upon their land. One village, Danti, has experienced a population decrease from 13,000 to a mere 3,000 in the last 10 years. Climate scientists predict that sea levels will continue rising in parts of the Indian Ocean, potentially putting more coastal villages in danger.
However, it’s not just the sea that is encroaching on the land of fishing villages in India. Coastal development projects—hotels, ports, and power plants—are constantly popping up along India’s shores, putting local fishermen out of business. Just today, Gujarat Pipavav, a large Indian port operator and developer announced its initial public offering, with a goal of raising as much as 5 billion rupees.
From a small-scale fisherman’s perspective, the consequences of coastal development are far greater than temporary unemployment and relocation. For them, fishing has become a way of life, passed on from generation to generation, and it is a livelihood dependent on a coastal location. The fishermen feel that the government has always been unresponsive to their needs, and without government-initiated legal protection for the fishing villages, thousands are in danger of having their homes razed and livelihoods shattered by big developers.
The Trivandrum, Kerala-based South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS) is an NGO that has recognized this threat and is working toward improving the lives of fishermen and their families. SIFFS helps to organize and unify small-scale artisanal fish workers by organizing its 9,104-member fishermen into 153 societies in Southern India. SIFFS also provides a range of much-needed services, available to members and non-members alike, including a microcredit program, policy research, and documentation of issues relevant to fisheries development, and even training for alternative employment. All of these initiatives are high-impact and sustainable ways to help fishermen in South India work together to confront the major challenges faced by the entire industry.
Photo Credit: Sonali Mehta-Rao
