Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
• China is the largest producer and consumer of fish. Its zero growth policy for capture fisheries since 1998 will prevent the depletion of fish stock, while most of its future demand will be met through aquaculture • In 2000, global fishery production was 130.4 million tonnes (mt) and China's …
The export of fish and fish products from India is not a post-Independence phenomenon. Fish export statistics are available from mid-nineteenth century onwards. Princely states like Travancore and Cochin had vibrant export trade. Dried fish and prawns, fish oil, shark fins, sea cucumber, fishmeal
for more than five decades, fisherfolk from the estuary of Hooghly river in West Bengal have used the uninhabited island of Jambudwip as a seasonal fishing camp. Today, a complex legal wrangle threatens to jeopardise their livelihood. The Central Empowered Committee (cec), constituted by the Supreme Court (sc) has observed …
Mozambique has become the fifteenth African nation to grant fishing rights to the European Union (EU). Under the pact, European vessels will be allowed to catch tuna and shrimp off the country's coast for the next three years. Though EU says it would promote sustainable fishing in the region, conservationists …
after a series of agitations demanding the protection of rights of the traditional fisherfolk community of India, the National Fishworkers' Forum (nff) has finally been assured by Prime Minister (pm) Atal Bihari Vajpayee that its demands will soon be looked into. Even as the nff delegates were hopeful that their …
Large-scale fish deaths have sparked a livelihood crisis in the Penny Bay region of Hong Kong. The cause of the fatalities is said to be reclamation work on about 160 hectares of land along the island for a Disney park. Fish farmers have been offered us $641,000 as compensation for …
Kagjitola Bhagalpur Bihar. The struggle of 500 families on the banks of the Ganga is to the country's fisherfolk what the Chipko movement was to the forest people of India. In early 1980sit fought a successful battle against landlords and forced the state government to allow traditionalfisherfolk to fish in …
In the last six months, Japanese fisherfolk sold 52 Minke whales under the country's controversial scientific whaling programme. This sale was made possible by changing the previous law to suit the needs of the fisherfolk. The changed law now allows them to harvest any whale that gets trapped in their …
PEOPLE are the best managers of biodiversity. This statement succinctly summed up a conference organised recently at the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) in Bhopal. It is also the tenor on which the Madhya Pradesh government's decision is premised, allowing villagers around the Tawa reservoir to retain their fishing …
The five-month-old ban on hunting and trading in sharks and 52 species of molluscs has been relaxed partly (Down To Earth, Vol 10, No 15, December 31, 2001). Considering the livelihood problem of the fisherfolk, the Union ministry of environment and forests recently issued a revised notification saying that the …
The Madhya Pradesh government has made a landmark decision to allow villagers around the Tawa reservoir to retain their fishing rights. Not only will this enable locals to carry on fishing activity at the reservoir, it will also allow them to continue marketing their catch as well. Impressed by the …
A river tells its story through its geological history and the life that it supports. Much can be revealed to the discerning observer, as in the case of the Indravati river, which traverses the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. The predominantly tribal population here, whose livelihood depends on this river, is …
On july 11, 2001, fisherfolk across the country were thrown in at the deep end when the Union ministry of environment and forests (mef) announced a blanket ban on the catching, processing, stocking and sale of 60 types of sea creatures. These included the entire sub-class of elasmobranches (sharks, rays …
Why has a ban been imposed on shark hunting in particular? Sharks have a vital role in the marine ecosystem since they are the apex predator at the top of the marine food chain. But today they are almost extinct, being a major target of the fish hunters. Their slow …
kuwait's leading fish farm has trashed 51 tonnes of dead fish. Probably a poison scare prompted the firm to do so. However, government officials said the poison scare sweeping the emirate was no cause for alarm and the situation was well under control. The 180,000 fish identified as Bolti, were …
Disappearing mangroves in the Kachchh: The districts of Kachchh and Jamnagar have been declared the most dominant mangrove areas in Gujarat. Some of the biggest and thickest mangrove jungles are on the Kachchh coastline covering a 890 sq km stretch and protected under the crz as eco-sensitive areas. However, irrespective …
On why he refused to accept the Pew Foundation fellowship: Although the award is a recognition to our movement, the implications to the money associated with the award are different. The Philadelphia-based Pew Foundation is sponsored by the oil company, Sun, which has over the years contributed to marine pollution. …
IT HAS come a full circle. Humans, who were responsible for the debacle in the first place, are now being asked to act as saviours too. The world's depleting fish stocks could get a boost if a new initiative of the World Wide Fund for Nature (wwF) and Unilever Plc, …
Too wide a net The world's fishing industry is on self-destructive overdrive and countries are belligerently marking out marine territory KAVITA CHARANJI TOO many boats chasing too few fish. That's the story being replayed with increasing frustration in the world's major oceans. In the North Pacific, triggerhappy fishermen competing for …
