Fishermen on strike in Porbandar over entry of foreign vessels in Indian waters

Fishermen associations in Porbandar, Gujarat, struck work on Monday in protest over the central government's decision to permit foreign trawlers to fish in Indian waters.

The protesting fishermen submitted a memorandum to the Collector of Porbandar in which they listed their demands. Several fish markets too remained shut in protest.

Jadavji Postaria, the Secretary of the Boat Association of Porbandar, said the government's decision would directly impact the livelihood of local fishermen.

"We are protesting against the permission given to the foreign trawlers. We will become unemployed by this decision. Therefore, Indian federation of fishery industry has called this strike and the whole Gujarat state and Porbandar is supporting it," said Postaria.

Recently, the government announced a policy allowing fishing by foreign vessels in Indian waters. This has come as a major blow to the traditional fishermen in Gujarat and other parts of the country who are already affected by the fishing ban for turtle nesting for over three months in a year.

This permission to the foreign trawlers will bring in revenues through taxes but at the same time it will render the traditional business of Indian fishermen jobless and would pose a threat to their livelihood.

The fishermen associations have threatened to intensify their protests if their needs were not met.