The agitation of the traditional fish workers in Delhi, organised by National Fishworkers` Forum, concluded on 7 November 2008. It received tremendous support from members of parliament, activists, and social and political groups. Summing up the determination of the fish workers, senior NFF activist and leader of Kerala fish workers, T Peter said, “We will not leave the sea and the coast for the sand-mining, tourism and industry lobbies, and will confront them for every inch of land and reclaim it. If the government fails to take appropriate action, it will face the consequences in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.”

From 4 to 7 November 2008, fish workers across the country were on a sit-in at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, demanding the withdrawal of the draft Coastal Management Zone (CMZ) notification and the implementation of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification 1991. The sit-in got wide support from different quarters. Members of parliament and other dignitaries visited the sit-in. Major central trade unions of the country, namely, AITUC, HMS and UTUC, extended support to the fish workers` struggle and demands. Abani Roy, MP, and RA Mital represented the central trade unions and spoke at the sit-in. Eminent leaders, including Surendra Mohan, Suresh Prabhu, MP, Ashok Chowdhary, Bhupendra Rawat and many others activists and labour support organisations visited and extended support to the NFF agitation.

Marking a major victory for the long struggle of fish workers across the country and a huge shift from its earlier position, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Oscar Fernandez, declared on 6 November 2008 that India agreed to ratify the ILO Convention 188 — work in Fishing Convention 2007. Welcoming this decision and appreciating the government for making this happen, NFF Chairperson, Harekrishna Debanath, emphasised that, “A genuine effort for the speedy implementation of the provisions in the Convention is what is urgently needed.”

The minister promised a comprehensive, national-level legislation, incorporating the provisions and extending the scope of the Convention to cover all the fish workers in the country. Later in the day, in a detailed discussion with a delegation of the NFF in his office, the Labour Minister assured that he will take up the demands of the fish workers on a priority basis.

The displacement of the traditional fish workers due to the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) set up the Kutch region; the Special Tourism Zones (STZs) declared in the Southern coast; the blanket ban on fishing sea cucumbers, shark, etc.; and the loss of livelihood due to sanctuaries, national parks and marine protected areas in Gahir Matha (Orissa), Sunderbans (West Bengal), Gulf of Manar (Tamil Nadu), Malwan (Maharashtra), etc. — all figured prominently in the negotiations with the minister.

The Labour Minister assured the agitators that he would raise these issues with the concerned ministries. He requested the NFF leadership to keep a senior delegation in Delhi for a few days to follow up with various ministries and the Prime Minister’s Office. The Ministry of Environment and Forest, which had issued the CMZ notification, is directly under the charge of the Prime Minister. The Labour Minister requested the other fish workers to go back to their regions and resume work.

The NFF leadership also met AK Antony, the Union Cabinet Minister for Defence. Shri Antony assured them that he would look into the demands of the fish workers and raise their issues at appropriate levels.

In the light of the above, the NFF with all its constituent members decided to call off the Delhi phase of the agitation on 7 November 2008.

The NFF calls upon the fish workers of India and their supporters to keep up the spirit of the agitation and their preparedness for the struggle and to keep vigil on developments regarding the assurances in the coming weeks. The next course of action and future strategies of the movement will be decided in the NFF National Conference in Ramnad, Tamil Nadu, on the 13-16 December 2008.

From 1 May 2008, the fisher people had been conducting a national campaign called the Machhimar Adhikar Rashtriya Abhiyan along the coastline of the country from Jakhau in Gujarat to Kolkata in West Bengal, under the aegis of the NFF. As a culmination of this, more than 500 fishermen and women from the coastal states reached Delhi with their charter of demands on 3 November 2008 to put pressure on the Government of India.