The Hindu Business Line : `Coastal tourism hurts livelihood of fisherfolk'

ATTEMPTS by the State Government to promote tourism aggressively here and other places along the coast will have far-reaching and adverse repercussions on the welfare of fisherfolk and such attempts should be opposed, Father Thomas Kochari, the founder of National Fisherpeople Forum (NFF), has said.

Fr Kochari, who had led a protest rally to the collectorate on these issues and addressed a meeting of activists here on Thursday, said in an interview that ``the tourism lobby adopts a rape-and-run approach. In the name of tourism, coastal areas are ravaged, all laws are flouted with impunity and fisherfolk are displaced and denied access to marine resources.''

He said the promises of the Government to rehabilitate, or re-employ, fisherfolk were empty and they should not be trusted. Tourism, as well as aquaculture, destroy precious coastal resources, foul up the coastal environment and endanger the livelihood of millions of traditional fisherfolk. They should be opposed tooth and nail, he said.

He said Andhra Pradesh has a very long coastline and the number of traditional fishermen dependent on marine resources in the State is also the highest in the country and ``therefore, the State Government should be very conscious of their welfare and desist from pursuing any activity which displaces them. They are the poorest of the poor and have no other means of livelihood.''

Fr Kochari said that next month, a huge rally of fisherfolk would be held in Mumbai with a lakh of them participating in it to highlight these issues. Maharashtra fishermen's co-operatives would bear the expense.

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