Fish workers plan protest to demand land rights, reservation

Fish workers who are part of the All India Fish Workers Federation will protest near Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Monday (August 31, 2026), urging the Union government to address their livelihood issues and provide them with health and accident insurance cover. They will also submit a memorandum to Union Fisheries Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, with a charter of demands, including control over multinational companies engaged in fishing.

The Union government must withdraw the “blue economy policy” as it subjugates the sea and the coast to multinational companies, the federation’s leaders, R. Prasad, and Lok Sabha MP V. Selvaraj, said in a statement. They urged the Union government to provide land and houses to all fishing families.

The children of fish workers must get reservation and grants in higher education, and job reservation in the Indian Navy and Coast Guard, they said. Alleging that fish workers were tortured by foreign countries on the pretext of violating maritime boundaries, they demanded that the Centre must take steps to avoid such incidents. “Ensure health insurance and accident insurance for all fishermen. Stop giving subsidies and licenses to big fishing companies and give subsidies only to traditional fishermen,” they demanded.

India is the second-largest fish producing country, and fish workers play a major role in employment generation, earning foreign exchange through export, and providing nutritious food for the people. “Even though they are the very hard working people, they are living in a very miserable condition. Most of the workers have no proper house and land title, social security, income stability, etc. Due to the unscientific economic policies of the Union government, fish workers are facing acute crisis, including loss of livelihood and eviction from traditional habitat due to sand mining and climate change,” they said.