The Mumbai terror attacks of last year have exposed the loopholes in the way fishing business is conducted along the international maritime boundary. The Ahmedabad-based Mahatma Gandhi Labour Institute will now organise a two-day national seminar,Impact of globalisation on Livelihood of Fisheries Workers on March 18 in an effort to sort out the legal issues related to cross border migration in international waters as well as to throw some light on the plight of fisheries workers in the era of globalisation. MGLI Programme Director R N Trivedi said: Around 60 delegates comprising academicians,Trade Union leaders,and government officials from eight states will deliberate for two days to come up with policy recommendations for the fisheries sector. Its a first of its kind initiative by MGLI and the key note address will be delivered by Thomas Kochery,the Coordinator of the National Fish Workers Forum. The issue also assumes significance as India is the third largest producer of fish and the second largest producer of inland fish in the world. Gujarat contributes a major chunk to this produce. The state has the longest coastline in the country. The contribution of the fisheries sector to Indias GDP is 1.8 per cent. S Sahu,Assistant Professor at MGLI,who is also the coordinator for this deliberation,said: Among other issues,the focus will be on the technological changes in the sector,absence of a social security net for fishermen,migration and livelihood issues and impact of climatic changes due to Global Warming. These recommendations will be submitted to the Gujarat government for consideration,MGLI officials said.
