Fishermen in Rameshwaram have declared to go on an indefinite hunger strike against the government ban on fishing for 45 days from mid-April which will continue throughout the month of May exclusively during the fish breeding season. Notably, this ban is enforced to safeguard the fishes during their breeding season to conserve diversity and stock.
Fishermen’s economy would receive a blow with the ban, thus the hunger strike. Inactivity in fishing will cause great financial downfall to the fishermen whose only source of earning is fishing.
“Fishermen of five districts, involving more than 50,000 fishermen, will stop working indefinitely from March 3 and are going for a strike. After that, from March 6, we are ready to sit on roads,” said S. Karunamoorthy, the district secretary of Tamil Nadu Fishermen Federation.
Karunamoorthy also added that the Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing Regulation Act needs some changes to suit the finances of the fishermen. Previously, fishermen submitted a petition to the Tamil Nadu Government, but, did not receive any response on it.
