OCCASIONAL PAPER 8 Economic Liberalisation and Gender Dynamics in Traditional Small-Scale Fisheries Reflections on the proposed EU-India Free Trade Agreement A Report for Focus on the Global South by Susana Barria Rohan Dominic Mathews August 2010 Printed August 2010 Focus on the Global South 196, DDA Hauz Khas Apartments Aurobindo Marg New Delhi 110016 INDIA Economic Liberalisation and Gender Dynamics in Traditional Small-Scale Fisheries: Reflections on the proposed EU-India Free Trade Agreement by Susana Barria and Rohan Dominic Mathews This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution This publication or parts of it may be reproduced on the condition that proper acknowledgment and cita- tion be given to the author and Focus on the Global South. Focus would appreciate receiving a copy of the text in which this report was mentioned or cited. To publish figures not belonging to Focus on the Global South, please coordinate with the owners for per- mission. Susana Barria and Rohan Dominic Mathews are researchers with Intercultural Resources (www.icrindia.org). You may contact the author of this report at <[email protected]> or <[email protected]> THE OCCASIONAL PAPERS are published by Focus on the Global South. Although some of the authors are Focus staff or visiting researchers, we are open to proposals from individuals or organisations who would like to submit papers for publication. The aim of the series is to publish new research and policy analysis on key issues emerging from the processes of economic globalisation and militarisation and the countervailing force of resistance and alternatives. The views expressed in this series are those of the au- thors and do not necessarily represent the views of Focus on the Global South. 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TABLE OF CONTENTS I SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS .............................................................................................................. 1 II INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................ 4 III INDIAN FISHERIES: A TRADITIONAL COMMUNITY VIEW .......................................................... 8 1) Traditional fisheries: Intrinsic features .................................................................................................... 8 2) Traditional fisheries and the development of market relations .......................................................... 9 3) Export orientation and modernization: The technocratic drive in Indian fisheries ...................... 10 4) The division of labour .............................................................................................................................. 16 5) Marketing and women in fisheries ........................................................................................................ 20 6) Challenges for traditional small-scale fishworkers ............................................................................. 21 a) A balance is to be found ................................................................................................................. 21 b) Access to coastal land ..................................................................................................................... 23 c) Work in fisheries sector .................................................................................................................. 23 d) Gender dynamics and international competition ..................................................................... 24 IV INDIAN FISHERIES AND POLICY: AN OVERVIEW .......................................................................... 26 1) Domestic policies impacting small-scale fishworkers ........................................................................ 26 a) Background ...................................................................................................................................... 26 b) Regulation of marine resources utilisation ................................................................................. 27 c) Coastal Regulation Zone Notification ......................................................................................... 28 d) Traditional Coastal and Marine Fisherfolk Bill .......................................................................... 30 2) India's international commitments on fisheries .................................................................................. 31 a) The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ........................................................... 32 b) Food and Agriculture Organisation Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries ................ 33 c) International Labour Organisation Work in Fishing Convention .......................................... 35 d) Fisheries in the World Trade Organisation ................................................................................. 35 V EU-INDIA FTA AND FISHERIES .............................................................................................................. 37 1) India's Free Trade Agreements ............................................................................................................... 37 2) The European Union and fisheries ........................................................................................................ 39 a) Overview .......................................................................................................................................... 39 b) Access to foreign waters ................................................................................................................ 40 c) Access to raw materials ................................................................................................................. 42 d) Favourable environment for EU companies' investments ....................................................... 42 3) EU-India FTA: Concerns from a small-scale fisheries perspective ................................................... 43 a) Foreign vessels in Indian EEZs ..................................................................................................... 44 b) Displacement of local fish vendors .............................................................................................. 45 c) Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing .............................................................................. 46 d) Imports and livelihoods ................................................................................................................. 47 e) What to expect from exports? ....................................................................................................... 49 f) Who’s coastal land? ........................................................................................................................ 50 VI CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................ 51 Economic Liberalisation and Gender Dynamics in Traditional Small-Scale Fisheries ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank the following: Kerala Swatantara Malsya Thozhilali Federation, Maharashtra Machhimar Kriti Samiti and National Fishworkers Forum for their support in facilitating the fieldwork. Focus on the Global South and Intercultural Resources for facilitating this endeavour. Anto Elias, Magline Peter, N.D. Koli, Poornima Meher, Rambhau Patil, Sajeer Abdul Rehman, Sumesh Mangalassery and T. Peter for their guidance and support during our fieldwork. A.J. Vijayan, Benny Kuruvilla, Christa Wichterich, Kalyani Menon Sen, M.J. Vijayan and Thomas Kocherry for their comments on the draft. Aardra Surendran, Ashish More, Febna Raheem, Neena Koshy, O.J. Nelson, P.T. George, Sebastian Mathew and Sonila Swaminathan for their support and reflections during the course of research and writing of the paper. Occasional Paper 8 | Page i Economic Liberalisation and Gender Dynamics in Traditional Small-Scale Fisheries ABBREVIATIONS AA - Association Agreement ACP - African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States ASEAN - Association of Southeast Asian Nations CEPA - Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement CRZ - Coastal Regulation Zone EC - European Commission EEZ - Exclusive Economic Zone EFTA - European Free Trade Association EU - European Union FAO - Food and Agriculture Organisation FPA - Fisheries Partnership Agreement FTA - Free Trade Agreement FTP - Foreign Trade Policy GCC - Gulf Cooperation Council GoI - Government of India HLTG - High Level Trade Group ICSF - International Collective in Support of Fishworkers ICTSD - International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development ILO - International Labour Organisation INP - Indo-Norwegian Project IPOA-IUU