The ongoing human-induced environmental crisis will soon turn fisherfolk and other communities that depend on natural resources into climate refugees, Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik said here on Wednesday.

Naik, known for close association with the fishing community, was inaugurating the 7th General Assembly of World Forum of Fisher People (WFFP), which represents 10 million fisherfolk worldwide, that got under way here on Wednesday. The deliberations at the general assembly, where delegates from a large number of countries are participating, will go on till November 21.

‘Form global alliances’



Citing the cases of fishermen incarcerated in other countries, the UP Governor stressed the need for fishing communities in different countries to come together to form international alliances.

Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said the fisheries sector, whose annual production was 114 million tonnes last year, offers immense potential and was already growing at an annual rate of 6 per cent.

Nearly 67 per cent of fish production comes from the inland sector and the remaining 33 per cent from the marine sector, he said, adding that the country had a reservoir of over 30 lakh hectares, ponds and tanks in 25 lakh hectares and 12.5 lakh hectare saline water area, which has a production capacity of 150 lakh tonnes.

Singh said the government had launched schemes such as Blue Revolution to ensure sustainable livelihood and economic prosperity to the fishing community. T Peter of the National Fishworkers’ Forum, while appreciating the efforts of the government, said it should take inputs from the community before initiating such programmes. He also said there should be a separate Ministry of Fisheries at the Central level to look into the problems faced by the community.

WFFP general secretary Naseegh Jaffer exhorted different organisations working in the arena to come together to make the movement stronger. As an international organisation, WFFP has been in the forefront of resisting land, water and ocean grabbing by vested interests, he said.