Bengal’s Fishers Demand Climate Insurance and Rights Protection in National Fisheries Plan
Bengal Fishers want climate resilience and legal safeguards to feature prominently in the National Fisheries Plan, highlighting the need to protect vulnerable fishing communities.
Bengal Fishers are demanding climate insurance and stronger rights protections to safeguard fishing communities against climate risks and livelihood uncertainties.
Bengal Fishers: When a cyclone forms in the Bay of Bengal, a fisher in South 24 Parganas loses more than a few days at sea. The boat, the nets, the catch and often the household’s only income can go with it, and no formal safety net is guaranteed to follow. That exposure was the central theme when small-scale fishing communities from West Bengal gathered in Diamond Harbour to shape India’s first National Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries.
The community consultation was organised by the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO) and drew 70 delegates from South 24 Parganas and other coastal and estuarine areas. They represented a range of small-scale fishing occupations. Their demands were climate-risk insurance, protection of traditional fishing rights, wider social security coverage and a bigger voice in coastal governance.
Bengal Fishers: Insurance for a Changing Climate
Delegates said climate-related hazards are putting growing pressure on small-scale fishing families. They asked for parametric insurance products designed for their circumstances to cover livelihood losses from adverse weather. Parametric policies pay out when a pre-agreed trigger is met, such as a wind speed or rainfall level, rather than after an individual loss assessment.
Participants also sought better medical insurance, stronger social security and simpler access to welfare entitlements. They asked for faster and easier issuance of small-scale fisheries identity cards. They described these as the basis for formal recognition, access to welfare and inclusion in government schemes. Strengthening Integrated Child Development Services in fishing villages was also raised as a priority.
The concern is rooted in recent history. Cyclone Amphan struck the Sundarbans on 20 May 2020, with wind speeds of 150-160 kilometres per hour recorded in coastal areas after landfall. Residents of crab-catching and fishing villages in the delta later described how storms and restrictions on movement compounded their losses. In neighbouring Bangladesh, a state-run insurer has previously offered community-based cover to coastal fishermen.
Disaster preparedness was another major concern in Diamond Harbour. Participants asked for stronger village-level disaster management committees and better early-warning, response and relief systems. They said women must be included in disaster planning and response, given their role in household resilience, post-harvest work and recovery after cyclones, floods and other coastal hazards.
Bengal Fishers: Customary Rights, Consent and Coastal Development
Delegates urged authorities to protect customary tenure and traditional fishing rights, particularly where coastal development is changing access to fishing grounds. They called for effective implementation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent in projects that affect fishing communities. Under that principle, fishers would be consulted before decisions are made on coastal infrastructure, conservation measures or development activities that influence their livelihoods.
Bengal Fishers: Women Fish Workers Seek a Seat at the Table
Women fish workers took an active part in the meeting. They raised post-harvest fisheries, market access, income security, social protection and recognition of their work. Delegates said women’s roles remain under-represented in policy discussions. They called for meaningful inclusion in decision-making bodies linked to fisheries, welfare and coastal governance.
Bengal Fishers: How the National Plan Is Taking Shape
The Union Department of Fisheries is leading the consultation process across coastal states and Union Territories, with BOBP-IGO acting as secretariat and facilitator for the Marine National Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries. The plan is being prepared in line with the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries and India’s National Policy on Marine Fisheries, 2017.
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The Diamond Harbour meeting was part of the West Bengal consultation process. Earlier sessions were held at Kakdwip Fishing Harbour, covering the Sundarbans, Kakdwip, Namkhana and Sagar areas, and at Kanthi-Dadan Patrabar Fish Landing Centre, covering East Midnapore.
West Bengal is one of many stops on a national circuit. More than 20 consultations are planned across the eastern and western coasts and the island territories. Fourteen fisher community and civil society organisations have joined the community-led process, including the National Federation of Small-Scale Fish Workers and the National Fishworkers’ Forum. The consultations are held in local languages, with separate sessions for women and young participants. Similar meetings have taken place in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where fishers also raised climate risks, income loss on days when rough seas prevent fishing, and social protection.
Officials have described the exercise as central to the policy. The Union Fisheries Secretary has said the consultations are where the plan is actually written, not a step before drafting. A Joint Secretary in the Department of Fisheries has said about 30 million people in India are linked to fisheries and allied activities.
The recommendations from West Bengal will feed into the national process and support implementation of the FAO guidelines. The National Task Force is expected to incorporate the findings into the draft plan. The draft is expected on World Fisheries Day, 21 November, and will then be opened for public review before finalisation and notification in 2027.
