Keynote XIMU July 21,2023 Kurien

Ingredients for the Convivial Future of Marine Fisheries

in the Context of G20 Blue Coastal Economy Strategy:
Sangharsh, Nirmaan aur Seva

John Kurien

Marine fisheries, measured by its contribution to our GDP is an insignificant sector. However, if we view
it from some alternative perspectives and indicators, we may arrive at a different conclusion. This is true
for India and most developing G20 countries.

In India the sector had a relatively isolated past. But it played a salient role, along the coastal tract of our
nation. It was marked by socio-cultural, institutional, and technological diversity, while harvesting a rich
and valuable renewable resource.

Post-independence, the planned development processes initiated, resulted in bringing about some
skewed, and at times inappropriate and troubling consequences, for these communities. New but
inappropriate technologies; western scientific research paradigms; and a hierarchical administrative
structure – all of which were largely socially distant from the communities; created a divergence
between fisheries development and fisherpeople development.

In India and developing G20 countries, for a brighter and truly blue future, the marine fishing
communities themselves need to struggle (sangharsh) and showcase new alternatives (nirmaan) for a
more just, convivial, and sustainable future – for themselves, and for the coast on which they live, and
the sea in which they labour. To achieve this they need unequivocal support (seva) from larger society –
importantly from the bright and imaginative youth of their countries.

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Ingredients for the Convivial Future of Marine Fisheries

in the Context of G20 Blue Coastal Economy Strategy:
Sangharsh, Nirmaan aur Seva

Respected members on the dais, the VC and other faculty of XIMU, members of the Jesuit fraternity,
representatives of RIS and the Ministry of External Affairs and all the other special invitees in the
audience, and most of all, the wonderful, young audience. I consider it both an honour and a privilege
to deliver this keynote address as part of the G20 University Connect event.

Let me start by taking an experience poll.

Good way to keep my wonderful audience here awake and alert!

Promise you will give me honest answers? Yes/No.

How many of you here have seen the sea? Raise your hands.

How many of you have seen fishermen launch their boats? Raise your hands.

How many had a conversation with fishermen or fisherwomen on the coast? Raise your hands.

How many of you have spent a day in a fishing village or gone out to sea with fishers? Raise your hands.

Just as I expected, as we get closer to the real life of people -- that is, people other than from our own circle and background --
the extent of our interaction with them reduces.

Now I am sure that I am going to be talking about a sector of the economy and about a large segment of primary producers in
our country, which most of you DO NOT know much about.

Introduction
I am going to talk to you about the coast, the sea, but most importantly about the marine fishing
communities.

The G20 countries account for around half the world’s coastline and a fifth of the world’s most productive
part of the sea – called the Exclusive Economic Zones. Just India, Indonesia, China, and Brazil together
account for more than three-quarter the fishworkers of the world. Yet, marine fisheries and fisherpeople
are NOT a much-discussed topic in G20 countries.

It is therefore gratifying that during this G20 University Connect program the marine fishery is being given
attention. My special gratitude to the RIS and XIMU for this.

During my professional life, I have visited the coastal communities of 13 of the individual member G20
countries1, and many of the EU countries and thus have some understanding of the issues concerning the
people involved in their marine fisheries.

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(Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia,
South Africa, Türkiye, United Kingdom, and United States) and the European Union.

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Today, I will take the example of India. But what I say is broadly applicable in the developing countries of
the G20 – particularly the large nations like China, Indonesia, and Brazil, all of whom have sizeable number
of fisherpeople.

From the G20 perspective, India is an important marine fishery nation. In 2022 our marine capture fish
was 4.1 million tonnes. The 6th largest in the world. (In inland capture we have become the world leader harvesting 1.8 million
tonnes overtaking China in 2022). What you need to remember is that capture fisheries in India depends totally on
traditional fishing communities both in the marine (5 million involved) and inland sectors (23 million
involved). So people matter! (GoI Handbook of Fishery Statistics 2020)

But before I get to that, a few words about the title of my talk.

About the Title

I am using two languages -- Hindi (Sanskrit/Malayalam) -- in the title of my talk. I took this approach as I
find it the best way to express the real meaning of what I wish to say to you today.

Sangharsh – is the energetic attempt to achieve something socially appropriate/creative

Nirmaan – is the creation and re-creation of concrete alternatives

Seva – is undertaking joyful labour, selfless service, and doing it collectively with others

Let me also say a few words about the ‘Blue Coastal Economy.’ That will be important to situate the context
in which I am going to talk about marine fisheries.

The term ‘Blue Economy’ or ‘Blue Coastal Economy’ is a very recent expression. It is being used world over
to express the new ways to increase economic activity and raise a country’s GDP by utilization of many
natural resources of the coastal and ocean ecology. The ocean is now the new resource frontier.

Indeed marine fishing communities have from time immemorial been doing just that -- on a much-limited
scale and without adequate support from state or larger society. In a continental nation like India, since
most of the population resides and works on the terrestrial mainland, marine fisheries have been largely
‘out of sight’ – and hence ‘out of mind’ (refer to poll?).

Consequently, the Blue Coastal Economy agenda, is not really a project of the fishing communities. It has
been totally conceived from the outside – by consultants, planners, academicians and supported by our
politicians. (Mistaken Gunter Pauli Blue Economy) The focus is on the material dimensions of the ocean. We forget
that humans have a very strong relational and subjective relationship with the ocean.

What I would like to suggest in my talk is that we will not be able to carry through a fruitful effort at creating
a vibrant, just, and inclusive Blue Economy if we ignore the primacy of the people and the natural resources
of the marine fishery. There are examples from South Africa, Indonesia, Brazil, Canada – all G-20 members
-- and the current experience in India, to vouch for the validity of this statement.

Past and present before future

Before delving into the future of marine fisheries, I must give a brief summary of its past and some idea
about its present. Without this, you will not be able to appreciate why I have chosen to talk about the
three ingredients – sangharsh, nirmaan and seva.

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Imagine walking along the length of the breathtaking beaches of mainland India and the islands of
Lakshadweep, Andaman, and Nicobar.

Over a hundred years ago, a British administrator by the name of James Hornell, did that. What he saw on
his travels prompted him to write about the immense and unique technological, socio-cultural, and
institutional diversity of our coastal fishing communities. He used the wide variety of fishing boat designs,
as well as the adoption and innovation processes related to them, as the basis for his treatise. He gave it
a unique title: “The Origins and Ethnological (not economic or technological) Significance Of Indian Boat Designs.”

The conclusion of his thesis was that coastal communities all over India have borrowed boat-building ideas
from all around the world – through their trade and migration contacts. They adopted these designs in
accordance to their socio-cultural contexts but only if they could adapt them to the local geo-physical
conditions of the sea. Many boat designs were used exclusively for fishing and some also for transportation
of cargo and people.

Given such a background, one would have imagined that post-Independence marine fisheries
development would have utilised this amazing diversity of boat designs -- which were community
innovated, as well as ecologically and socio-culturally adapted -- as the foundation for fisheries
development.

It may surprise you to know that nothing like that happened.

Let me tell you why!

When Jawaharlal Nehru and his colleagues were preparing for India’s independence, they constituted a
National Planning Committee which investigated all sectors of the Indian economy and suggested how
each should be developed after independence. The sub-group of experts who were appointed to develop
the fisheries plan were fishery scientists –primarily marine biologists, who knew a lot about fish, but had
very little direct contact with the fishing communities who caught the fish which they studied.

(Like most of us here, they probably did visit beaches to collect fish samples, but hardly talked to fishers,
let alone join them fishing. Sadly, the caste, class and educational hierarchies in our society did not permit
them to do this.)

This wise group prepared their committee report on the assumption that:

(Quote) though the fishery resources have been exploited from time immemorial ………. the
occupation is largely of a primitive character, carried on by ignorant, unorganized, and ill-equipped
fishermen. Their techniques are rudimentary, the tackle elementary, their capital equipment slight
and inefficient (End quote)

It is hard to find another paragraph in the National Planning documents with so many demeaning terms.

This assumption then became the basis for their recommendations for marine fisheries development in
India. They proposed three pillars: western technology, scientific research institutions, and a competent
fishery bureaucracy. Everything else which existed, could be ignored.

It is my contention that, it was this shunning of the technology, knowledge and customary socio-cultural
institutional arrangements which existed, that lie at the root of the ill-effects in the marine fisheries sector.

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And what are these ill-effects?

First, fisheries development did not result in the development of the fishing communities.

Secondly, introduction of technology which was not appropriate to the tropical marine ecosystem,
resulted in its damage.

Thirdly, ignoring the socially sanctioned, customary communitarian norms, which prevailed in all fishing
communities, led to converting the coast and the sea into an open access realm, where anyone could
enter, merely by making absentee investments.

So what are some of the consequences arising out of this for the marine fisheries sector?

Marine fishing communities are still socio-economically marginalized. The marine ecosystem – particularly
the important near-shore coastal part -- is ruined. The harvesting and processing sector has huge excessive
capacity. The sector is marked by blatant economic inequality. Our fishing ports and fish markets are
marked by their poor hygiene. The youth from these communities would rather not go back to the lucrative
wealth of the sea.

It is the path of ‘development from above’ which was chosen, that is the prime cause.

Time does not permit me to go into details. But working closely with fishing communities, and my own
earlier research studies confirm these findings. And I am only sad, that today there is more confirmation
of this by others who have recently investigated these problems.

Looking into the Future

I realise that the picture I have painted of the present is rather grim. How can we imagine a convivial future
from such a sordid base you may ask?

But often it is from desperation and crisis that bright futures emerge. At least, that is my hope.

Let me start by placing before you some data and information about our marine resources and fishing
communities to highlight why it is important to imagine a new and bright future for this small but
significant sector of our economy.

Natural Resource in the Sea

India’s sea and ocean area – known as the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) -- is about 2.02 million km2. This
is about 60 percent of our land area of 3.28 million km2. In this aquatic realm we have 4.4 million tonnes
of fish which we can harvest on an annual sustainable basis (called MSY). This is a gift of nature. No need
for fertilizer or pesticide. Just skillful human effort, with suitable technological support, is needed to
harvest this wealth.

There is an important spatial dimension about this living resource. About 70 percent of it is to be found
closer to the shore, well within the 50 mt. depth line, and it is spread all around the 8000 km (8162-CMFRI)
coastline of the country and its islands. Decentralised and small-scale operations are most appropriate for
harvesting this resource.

An under-appreciated fact about these living resources is the phenomenal contribution which they are
currently making (and can be enhanced in future) from the point of food security – particularly of young

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children. Some of the humble varieties of fish, like oil sardines and anchovies, of which we have millions
of tonnes in our EEZ – are what nutritionists have now discovered to be super-nutrients, which have no
equivalent replacement. Note that the G20 Agriculture Ministers meeting in Telangana last month (June
2023) also reiterated their (quote)“commitment to food security and nutrition for all, through the
development of inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agriculture and food systems.”

If these fish can be used to feed children in the first 1000 days of their life, it will make significant difference
in their brain development and contribute to overall immune system development. Efforts in this direction
made by the Government of Orissa and WorldFish point to the unrealized potential.

There are also other valuable living resources in our coastal waters – starting from several bacteria, algae,
plants, and other organisms. Scientists now realise they can form the basis for a huge biochemical,
nutraceutical industry with yet undiscovered use and exchange value. There are marine microalgae which
can be used for scavenging oil spills, as they can eat compounds from petroleum as part of their diet. I could
go on about this.

Human Resources on the Coast

The vibrant coastal fishing communities which inhabit our 8000 km coastlines are the other undervalued
and under-appreciated wealth of our nation.

There are many estimates of their number and spread along the coast. From my own research experience
I can confidently say that there is still no proper demographic count or sociological and anthropological
assessment of these culturally rich maritime communities and their vibrant heritage.

The best all-India data we have now is from the CMFRI census of 2016. This is already seven years old.

Taking only the data pertaining to our nine-mainland maritime states and their coastline of 6000 kms, we
have (rounded off) 3300 fishing villages, 9 lakh fisher families making a total population of about 4 million.

We are all so used to having these big numbers thrown at us. We rarely understand them in terms that we
can relate to.

Let me try, with one example to show how, by stating this data in a different way we can highlight new
information. New potentials.

From the totals given by CMFRI we can re-state the data as follows:

Along our coastline we have one fishing village for nearly every 2 kilometers of coast. (6068 km/3300 villages)

In each of these villages there are about 1200 persons (adults plus children). That is 600 persons/km.

Suppose all of them come out of their villages, stand in line, and stretch out their hands. We will have a
human chain which covers the whole coast of mainland India. (1.8 mt span x 600 = 1080 mt)

Just imagine that!!

Is there any other community who can protect their occupational and socio-cultural realm in this
manner?? I doubt!

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Of course, you may say, these are averages. This cannot be done on the coast of Gujarat (220/km). Right
you are. But in Orissa (1080/km) where we are today, we would be able to make two parallel human chains
on the coast!

My purpose of presenting data in a different way was to give you one example of how we can create
information which highlights vastly neglected aspects about fishing communities and the huge potentials
for them to use their knowledge and skills to assist in national development.

Based on the above information: Imagine the phenomenal techno-socio-ecological knowledge which they
have about every inch of our country’s diverse coastline. Consider the role they can play in national
security of the coast. In this era of climate change and extreme weather events, they can make big
contributions to gather real time data on the state of the sea and revival of coastal vegetation. Think about
the role they can play in monitoring coastal pollution and rescue measures during coastal disasters. The
potential list is long.

However, if fishing communities are to play such roles for the nation there are two pre-conditions.
Wherever they exist along the coast, they must be given assured preferential access rights to the shore
and to the sea which is adjacent to it.

But what are we seeing today? In the name of Blue Growth for a trillion-dollar economy, new investments
are being hastily made on the coast and at sea, but without any reasonable and consultative processes
with those who dwell on the coast. Marine fishing communities run the serious risk of becoming
‘development and climate refugees.’

What’s to be done to create a convivial future?

As I said in the title of my talk, there are three main ingredients to achieve a convivial future for marine
fishing communities -- Sangharsh, Nirmaan and Seva.

Sangharsh: is the energetic attempt to achieve something socially creative

All over the coast, and for at least four decades now, marine fishing communities have been engaged in
sangharsh. Having observed this at close quarters in my work and research, I would classify their
sangharsh efforts into two categories – collaborative and adversarial. Such actions are not restricted to
India. I have observed it in other G20 countries like South Africa, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, and Canada.

At an all-India level the best collaborative sangharsh example was the famous Kanyakumari March
organised by the National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) in 1989 on the theme “Protect Water, Protect Life”.
Here were members of a fisher’s trade union, marching down from Gujarat and West Bengal and finally
meeting in Kanyakumari, raising the issue of the need to protect water – water of the sea, the rivers, the
lakes; ground-water found in our wells and water supplied through the taps.

Fishers took the campaign initiative, and along the way they got the support of many communities –
farmers, tribals, slum dwellers, urban middle-class – everyone who was concerned about water – its
quality and its supply. Women turned out in big numbers as they bear the greatest burden when water
becomes scarce and polluted.

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Or consider a more recent example. The rescue missions organised spontaneously by the marine
fishermen in Kerala to save people, far away from the coast, during the 2018 Kerala floods. They because
the instant ‘superman’ heroes.

There are many, many more examples of such collaborative sangharsh actions at the state and local levels
in India and other G20 countries. But time does not permit me to elaborate.

The adversarial sangharsh initiatives always catch the headlines. The recent such initiatives all along the
coast – west and east – relate to the opposition of fishing communities to the sea ports which are springing
up overnight along our coastline like mushrooms. A lot of granite from our hillocks and ghats – in raw
form or as moulded concrete -- is being poured onto our beaches and coastal waters. These investments
are supported by large national research institutes and environmental assessment agencies. They rather
hastily conduct data collection, and even at times, adopt unethical procedures. And policy makers, often
under political pressure, sanction the investments in great haste without genuine consultation and free,
prior, informed consent (FPIC) of the affected communities. When fishing communities oppose these
investments, they are often pictured as anti-development. Sometimes dubbed as foreign funded; urban
Naxalite supported and so on.

The point I wish to make is that BOTH the sangharsh approaches – collaborative and adversarial -- are
basically well-intentioned and socially creative efforts from the point of view of the marine fishing
communities. This is their way of saying that they care for the coast and the sea. They are asserting their
customary rights to this terraqueous ecosystem which is their historical occupational and socio-cultural
heritage.

For a convivial future, sangharsh approaches MUST continue.

In a democratic society, this is the most important freedom to foster social resilience and to ensure that
human rights are respected. Sangharsh is also important for a democracy to stay genuinely participative,
just, and inclusive. G20 countries wholeheartedly endorse such sentiments.

Nirmaan: is the creation and re-creation of concrete alternatives

The nirmaan initiatives of marine fishing communities are numerous too. Because they are largely
restricted to the coast, most of us rarely get to see or comprehend their significance.

These initiatives come in a variety of ways. Let me give the example of technological innovation.

I spoke at the outset about the diversity of fishing craft designs. Most marine fishers in India still use what
are called beach landing fishing crafts. According to the CMFRI Census in 2016, 80 percent of Indian fishing
crafts are landed on beaches at the fishing villages.

There have been numerous post-independence efforts by national institutions and international agencies
to ‘replace’ the traditional models of beach-landing crafts. However, despite huge amount of knowledge,
effort and money having gone into them, none of these efforts had succeeded. One important negative
feature of all these innovation efforts was that they involved the fishers ONLY at the ‘trial and pilot
implementation stages’ but never genuinely in the planning and designing stages.

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But there was an interesting exception. In the 1990s in Tamilnadu, a group of expert kattumaram going
fishers and a group of naval architects and persons familiar with new boat fabrication materials started an
interesting collaboration.

Their main objective was to create a new boat design, which would have all the good qualities of a
kattumaram – unsinkable; can cross the rough surf; easy to maneuver at sea; best for sailing etc. But at
the same time they wanted to compensate for so many shortcomings of kattumarams, like limited space
for carrying fishing nets, ice, and fish, and being inappropriate for use of mechanical propulsion. The fishers
were the key participants right from the planning and designing stage and were treated as equal partners
of this technological nirmaan.

To cut short a very long story of trial and error, all I would say is that, in 5-6 years this diverse group, used
a variety of materials, but mainly marine plywood and fiberglass, and designed, built, and successfully
diffused, several boat designs. Today they have become most popular with the fishers of the states of
Karnataka, Kerala, Tamilnadu, Andhra and to a lesser extent in Orissa.

Based on my research, this is perhaps one of the most financially appropriate technology diffusion success
stories in Indian small-scale marine fisheries history. The original patent for the designs is with the South
Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS). In practice the patents have operated like an open access
creative commons (OACC) license of sorts.

According to the CMFRI Census of 2016, the number of boats which have utilised these materials and
designs in the southern maritime states (Karnataka, Kerala, Tamilnadu and Andhra) are about 30,000
today. That is about on-fifth of the total beach landing crafts in the country. This is not a mean
achievement.

Again, if time had permitted, I could have narrated more examples at state and local levels of nirmaan
initiatives which have created new alternatives.

For a convivial future, more nirmaan initiatives of, by and for fishing communities must continue. This is
the only way that the huge fund of traditional, practical, technological, and ecological knowledge, which
exists in these communities can be fully utilised. This requires a more collaborative and co-evolutionary
approach towards creative building of alternatives.

Seva: is undertaking joyful labour, selfless service, and doing it collectively with others

For a meaningful and productive combination of sangharsh and nirmaan, we need the right kind of seva.

Now I turn to the young people in the audience. You represent the cream of Indian society. You are very
fortunate to be in this University. (Fifty year ago I studied in XLRI, Jamshedpur) Most of you come from an urban city
background. Your parents and grandparents were educated. But perhaps a few of you are from the rural
areas of this country. Being in Orissa, maybe there are a few from the tribal communities. And I would be
happily surprised if there are students who come from fishing communities. (Anybody??)

If we wish a bright future for our country, then we must pay closer attention to the labouring populations
who are from the ‘primary sector’ of the economy – farmers, fishers, pastoralists, forest dwellers, artisans,
miners and so on. I call them ‘ecosystem communities’ – because they interact directly with the ecosystem
– land, forest, sea, mines. They form the largest share of our population even today, and yet the

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improvement in their overall well-being, even after 75 years of Independence, has not kept pace with the
rest of the population.

In our race to modernize our economies, we have forgotten a key principle. That the true wealth of a
nation is its natural resources and the ecosystem people. Together they form the backbone of our
societies. Part of the problem is that, like our own backbone, which we cannot see, we tend to take it for
granted. We neglect it, until it prolapses.

In many of our G20 nations there is today, a growing realization about this truth, and efforts are on to
strengthen this economic backbone. And based on my close experience with ecosystem communities in
many countries, one hugely unappreciated quality of theirs is the enormous entrepreneurial spirit and
talent which exists among them, waiting to be recognised and supported.

Those of us who are fortunate to be well educated, and have the skills of management, law, governance,
science, and policy making, need to exercise the option of supporting these ecosystem communities.

Let me throw a challenge to the Jesuit Fathers and other leaders of this University. Your vision is to be
(quoting from your website) “innovative in academia, grooming compassionate and resilient leaders to
lead organizations for a just, equitable and sustainable society.”

Why not support and finance the formation of a cooperative start-up which can be called Ecosystem
Community Livelihood, Institutional Management and Business Initiatives (ECoLIMB Initiatives). The
start-up can incubate ideas and invite venture capitalists and angel investors to participate.

Small multi-disciplinary teams of motivated graduates of XIM, and other institutions, who are willing to
support the sangharsh and nirmaan initiatives of ecosystem communities – even if it is only for a year or
two -- can find opportunities through this Initiative. (In fact the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana
provides funding for a community motivator called “Sagar Mitra” in every one of the marine fishing villages
of our country)

Do not for one moment think this is social work. Not at all.

Such an initiative will call for the most creative, effective, and efficient use of information and
communication technology (ICT); finance and marketing skills; natural resources economics; statistics and
commerce; law and governance knowledge; application of all liberal arts; a range of physical, biological,
earth and ocean sciences; geographic information systems; conservation and ecological practices; cultural
anthropology, and a broad range of other social, physical and biological sciences.

More specifically, in the marine fisheries sector the tasks will include: setting up multi-purpose fishery
cooperatives; devising fish marketing schemes; planning innovative insurance schemes in the context of
climate change; setting up fisheries banks; initiating community fish processing centres; creating new fish
products; providing basic finance and management skills to educated youth from fishing communities;
conceiving digital platform projects to link fish producers directly to fish consumers; initiating participative
ocean and coastal resource mapping projects and rejuvenating coastal vegetation like mangroves; and
documenting the fund of traditional ecological knowledge;. This is just a small list of the possibilities of
support for the future and fits well into the main motto of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana which
is ‘Reform, Perform and Transform.

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Dear young students, the call of the times is for sensitive leadership, founded on justice and freedom. The
imperative of our times is for leadership by young people who have shared empathy and a collective moral
conscience, transcending all divides, to create the road ahead to foster a convivial future for ecosystem
communities, including the marine fishing communities of our country. I hope some of you will take on
this challenge.

Conclusion
An influential policy think-tank, which advises our current central government, recently published an
article with the title: “Blue Economy under Indian G20 Presidency: Not an altruistic intent, but a
development imperative.2”

Let me end by taking issue with this title.

Altruism is the unselfish concern for the well-being of other people.

Based on what I have been saying this morning let me conclude that for a convivial future of marine
fisheries, what we desperately need is development imperatives, where nature, women, and men matter,
and WITH a big dose of altruistic intent.

Thank you. Namaskar. Jai Hind.

2
Ghosh N and Sridharan S, 2023: Blue Economy under Indian G20 Presidency: Not an altruistic intent, but a
development imperative. https://www.orfonline.org/research/blue-economy-under-indian-g20-presidency/

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