Article

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND FISHERIES GOVERNANCE: THE VIEW FROM INDIA

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Abstract

Indian fisheries are at a turning point. To date, Indian fisheries policies have emphasised production at the expense of allocation and, indeed, even effort restrictions. On the basis of original ethnographic data and secondary sources, we show how this has led to conflict between sectors and exacerbated pressures on marine living resources in the states of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. We use a social justice approach to analyse this trend and to suggest possible alternative future paths of governance. These turn on the conviction that only with a new emphasis on allocation grounded in social justice can Indian fisheries governance foster fisheries that continue to sustain high levels of employment without further depleting their biological basis.

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... This derives from the observation that (perceptions of) resource rights are embedded in local custom and may also be crucial in determining the potential for conflict. As Johnson and Bavinck (2010) underscore, for parties to become passionate and have resource conflicts escalate, there are usually strong notions of fairness at play related to customary notions of rights. Building on such insights for understanding fisheries conflicts, attention must also be paid to the socio-legal organisation and institutional arrangements at work. ...
... In line with the latter, Bavinck (2005) argues that conflicting parties in fisheries often refer to different socio-legal systems and that their differences relate to what the various involved parties view as being 'fair'. Johnson and Bavinck (2010) offer an analysis of the blue revolution that has transpired in India since the 1950s and the conflicts they associated with it from the perspective of legal pluralism. Building on such insights, a more comprehensive approach to understanding fisheries conflict suggests that attention must be paid to the socio-legal organisation and institutional arrangements. ...
... With the introduction of trawlers in the 1960s, the fisheries sector in India witnessed a socalled, blue revolution, an allusion to the comparable green revolution in the agricultural sector (Johnson & Bavinck 2010). The trawl boom in the Palk Bay, was particularly intense. ...
... In line with the latter, Bavinck (2005) argues that confl icting parties in fi sheries often refer to different socio-legal systems and that their differences relate to what the various i nvolved parties view as being "fair". Johnson and Bavinck (2010) offer an analysis of the blue revolution that has transpired in I ndia since the 1950s and the confl icts they associated with it from the perspective of legal pluralism. Building on such i nsights, a more comprehensive approach to understanding fi sheries confl ict suggests that attention must be paid to the s ocio-legal organisation and institutional arrangements. ...
... With the introduction of trawlers in the 1960s, the fi sheries sector in India witnessed a so-called, blue revolution, an allusion to the comparable green revolution in the agricultural sector (Johnson and Bavinck 2010). The trawl boom in the Palk Bay was particularly intense. ...
... That is, the trawlers' catching capacity exceeds the carrying capacity of the available fi shing grounds. Tamil Nadu fi shermen, small-scale and large-scale alike, consistently report declining trends in available fi sh stocks (Johnson and Bavinck 2010;Scholtens and Bavinck forthcoming). In this context it is possible to understand Indian fi shermen's compulsions to venture into Sri Lankan waters, which were vacated by the Sri Lankans during the wartime. ...
Article
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Controversies related to Indian trawlers crossing into Sri Lankan waters of the Palk Bay have repeatedly been the subject of newspaper headlines in both India and Sri Lanka since 1990. The first aim of this paper is to provide grass-roots insights into the post-war status of the north Sri Lankan fishing population and how their recent recovery has added a new dimension to the Palk Bay conflict. The second purpose is to create a better understanding of the nature of this conflict and to analyse the relevance of existing and proposed governance responses. Contrary to popular perception in India, this paper argues that since the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka the nature of the conflict in the Palk Bay has changed from one in which Indian trawler fishermen were faced with the Sri Lankan navy, to one which sets them primarily in opposition to the technologically less advanced Sri Lankan fishermen. It concludes that the governmental and fisher-based efforts to settle the conflict are ineffective as long as Indian parties do not acknowledge the nature of the conflict and the Sri Lankan authorities do not bring the fishermen and their government closer together.
... They also have undergone relatively similar processes of fisheries modernization known as the 'Blue Revolution'. This intervention paralleled the Green Revolution in its emphasis on the application of science and technology to boost production (Newman, 1984;Johnson and Bavinck, 2010). Previous work in India (Bavinck, 2003) has noted that the center of gravity for government fishing regulation is located at the intermediate or district level, rather than at the level of communities, or on the opposite end of the scale, regions or states. ...
... Fishers and their organizations are divided along lines of class, caste, gear and religion and have been unable to build encompassing organizations to manage the fishery (Jentoft et al, 2009). Although a coordinated legal plural response to the current challenges would be highly desirable in order to stave off serious resource over-exploitation and intensified conflicts over resource allocation, an indifferent state, a diminished Fisheries Department and a fragmented fishery sector means that even continuation of the current technocratic management regime would seem optimistic (Johnson and Bavinck, 2010). ...
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This article presents findings on the current state of fisheries governance in South Asia from the perspective of legal pluralism. It is based on ethnographic fieldwork in six coastal districts of India and Sri Lanka and focuses on resource health and allocation. We suggest that interactions between state and non-state systems vary, and include indifference, conflict, accommodation and mutual support. None of the studied governance patterns appear to have been able to halt or reverse overfishing, though we identify some positive local innovations. The situation is more promising with regard to resource allocation. Fairness in allocation emerges as a prime concern of most non-state legal systems in South Asian fisheries, and state agencies do tend to become involved in resource allocation if non-state fishery authorities fail to achieve it. We conclude by arguing that addressing resource health and allocation concerns will require increased state and non-state cooperation.
... Emic refers to the culturally specific view that is meaningful to the members of a given society, often considered to be an Binsider's^perspective(Pike 1967;Harris 1979). Writing in fisheries context,Johnson and Bavinck (2010) observes that due to the existence of these different viewpoints, the notion of justice varies from one society, and societal position, to the next; thus, there is no one Btrue^or Bcorrect^interpretation. ...
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This paper examines reproduction of marginality evident in fisheries. Uneven relations are widespread across geography and scale; between distant water fishing nations and coastal developing countries; between fishers on large-scale trawlers and smaller boats; between local elites and peasant operators; and between boat owners and crews working in poor and slave-like conditions. With inequality and social exclusion being such a pervasive phenomenon, we ask why do these relationships persist? Using governability, developed within the interactive governance approach, as an overarching basis for interpreting this issue, the purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the possibility that marginality is not only a feature of ungovernability but might also occur in a highly governable system. To advance this insight, we apply theoretical tools associated with Marxist-Gramscian political ecology to the case of small-scale fisher exclusion brought on by the implementation of an individual transferable quota system in New Zealand’s commercial fishery. In particular, we identify social and economic relations that give rise to an accentuated capitalist structure whereby the quota-owning sector of the population (e.g., processing companies and Maori tribal organizations) control the ways in which fishers access economic benefits from their labor. Over the years, the quota system has gained acceptance as a resource management strategy, an intervention that is now ideologically hard to break away. The result is the reproduction of fishers’ exclusion, which contributes to a governable fishery, rather than an ungovernable one. This understanding casts a critical note on what we mean by governability, directing our attention to the ethical questions regarding how fisheries are to be governed and the risks that come with its pursuit.
... This was termed 'Blue Revolution'. Liberal incentives and subsidies were provided to private players to exploit marine resources (Johnson & Bavinck, 2004). Since trawlers were the cornerstones of the revolution, trawler fleet expanded; vallams got motorised; and nylon nets replaced traditional nets. ...
Article
India’s relations with its neighbours in the maritime domain have received less scholarly attention. Those studies that deal with India’s relations with its South Asian neighbours generally touch on political security, socio-cultural and economic issues. The maritime aspect is either ignored or tucked in as a part of other dimensions. The present study attempts to fill the gap in the literature by taking up the case of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is chosen as a case, not only because the island state is India’s closest maritime neighbour but also due to the existence of deep interactions between the two countries in diverse fields both at governmental and non-governmental levels. In the maritime domain, in the present context, technically speaking, there is no problem between the two countries. However, the fishermen issue remains one of the issues principally because of the Tamil Nadu factor. Analysing the issue in five phases, the study argues for a ‘comprehensive approach’ for its settlement.
... The broader human rights perspective also mirrors the concerns of many small-scale fishing communities (see, e.g., Johnson and Bavinck, 2010). Participatory assessments of vulnerability in African fishing communities, for example, indicate that access to fisheries resources or the state of the fish stock are not their main concerns. ...
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A review of case law and other documentation of human rights issues in fishing communities highlights forced evictions, detention without trial, child labour, forced labour and unsafe working conditions, and violence and personal security, including gender-based violence, as key areas of concern. We argue that human rights violations undermine current attempts to reform the fisheries sector in developing countries by increasing the vulnerability and marginalization of certain groups. Citing cases from India, the Philippines, Cambodia, and South Africa, we show how human rights advocacy can be an effective element of support for development in fisheries. Finally, we outline how fisheries reform can better address human rights issues as an essential complement to the equitable allocation of fishing rights, contributing to improved resource management and human wellbeing.
Chapter
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Guelph, 2002. Includes bibliographical references.
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