Govt. urged to ensure fishing rights of inland fishermen

Associations say thousands depend on them for livelihood

Various organisations working for the cause of fishermen have urged the State government to ensure that inland fishermen do not lose their traditional fishing rights at dams, lakes and tanks.

There are over one lakh inland fishermen in the State, who depend on waterbodies maintained by the Fisheries Department and the Public Works Department.

“They can fish for a maximum of eight months in a year. Rest of the time, the waterbodies run dry. A government order in the 1990s mandated that priority should be given to inland fishermen over others when it comes to fishing rights. That should continue to be implemented. The government must not look to make profit in these cases since the livelihood of thousands of families is involved,” said K. Bharathi, South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association.