Climate change, safety at sea, social protection and access to marine resources have emerged as key concerns among Tamil Nadu’s fishing communities during consultations to formulate India’s National Plan of Action for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (NPOA-SSF).
The consultation in Thoothukudi brought together fishers and other stakeholders from Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram districts to identify livelihood challenges and recommend measures for inclusion in the proposed national framework.
The discussions assume significance as traditional fishing communities face increasingly unpredictable weather conditions, climate-related risks and uncertainty over access to marine resources. Participants called for stronger social security mechanisms and measures to protect traditional fishing rights while ensuring the long-term sustainability of fisheries.
Traditional fishing rights and social security in focus
The Thoothukudi consultation highlighted the need to safeguard the traditional tenure rights of fishing communities and strengthen their participation in marine resource management.
Participants also emphasised the importance of addressing livelihood vulnerabilities through better social protection, employment opportunities and support for fishing-dependent households.
The consultation was inaugurated by Thoothukudi Fisheries College and Research Institute, Dean, Dr S A Shanmugam.
Women fishworkers played an active role in the discussions, bringing attention to challenges in post-harvest activities, fish marketing and coastal livelihoods. Their participation highlighted the need to consider the wider fisheries value chain, rather than limiting policy interventions to fishing operations alone.
The recommendations covered sustainable access to fisheries resources, social development, decent work, gender equality and measures to improve the resilience of fishing communities to environmental and economic disruptions.
Seven more districts to join Chennai consultation
The consultation process will continue with a meeting in Chennai on October 16, bringing together fisher associations and other stakeholders from Tiruvallur, Chennai, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai and Nagapattinam districts.
Together, the two rounds of consultations will cover stakeholders from 11 coastal districts of Tamil Nadu, providing an opportunity to incorporate region-specific concerns into the proposed national action plan.
The wider consultation framework addresses interconnected issues such as sustainable fisheries management, traditional access rights, social development, employment, working conditions, value chains, post-harvest activities, trade, gender equality, disaster risk and climate change.
“For Tamil Nadu’s coastal communities, these issues are closely linked to livelihood security, the continuity of traditional fishing practices and the ability of fishing households to cope with environmental and economic uncertainties,” said BOBP-IGO Director Dr P Krishnan.
He said the national action plan would address a broad range of concerns affecting small-scale fishing communities, including access to fisheries resources, sustainable fisheries management, decent work, gender equality, climate change and disaster risk.
National action plan moves towards drafting stage
The National Task Force constituted to develop the NPOA-SSF is scheduled to incorporate the findings from the consultations into a draft plan in early November.
The draft is scheduled to be released for public consultation on November 21, 2026, after which the process will move towards review, finalisation and notification.
The consultation exercise is intended to ensure that the proposed framework reflects the practical concerns of fishing communities and other groups dependent on the fisheries sector.
The Tamil Nadu consultations are being organised by the Federation of Indian Fisher Organisations (FIFO) and Participatory Learning Action Network and Training (PLANT) Trust, in collaboration with the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), the National Federation of Small-Scale Fish Workers (NFSF) and the National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF). The Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO) is providing technical support.
Comprehensive effort
The NPOA-SSF is being developed in line with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations’ Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries, which provide an international framework for addressing the social, economic and environmental dimensions of small-scale fishing.
For Tamil Nadu, where coastal livelihoods depend on the health of marine resources and the viability of traditional fishing practices, the consultations provide a channel to bring local priorities into national fisheries policy. The effectiveness of the proposed plan will ultimately depend on how these recommendations translate into measures that improve livelihood security, strengthen safety and protect the long-term sustainability of fishing communities.