India: natural hazards, in the eye of the storm

In the wake of tropical cyclone Ockhi, the focus now should be on improving at-sea cyclone preparedness and search-and-rescue co-ordination to save precious live

Migrant fishers: following fish

Since the late 1980s, thousands of men from the coastal villages of Andhra Pradesh, India, have travelled to Gujarat to work as skippers and crew on board mechanized fishing boats

CBD: Ecology and equity

The UN Biodiversity Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, showed that sustainable development of fishing communities and participatory conservation of marine biodiversity are compatible. The 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP14) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was held on 17-29 November 2018 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Being the penultimate conference before meeting the deadline of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, adopted in Japan a decade ago, there was a lot at stake: Could the parties be rallied to deliver on their commitments under the Aichi Targets? Could they start developing an ambitious Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, which will not only meet the Convention’s objectives of conservation, sustainable use and benefit-sharing, but also address the challenges presented by climate change to the health of our planet

Cyclone Ockhi: disaster risk management and sea safety in the Indian marine fisheries sector

Between 29 November and 3 December, 2017, Cyclone Ockhi devastated hundreds of lives and livelihoods of coastal fishing communities in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India. This study assesses the impacts of the cyclone on fishing communities and the mechanisms in place at the local, national and international levels to address disaster risks and sea safety in small-scale fisheries, using a human rights-based approach. In line with the Sendai Framework 2015-2030 and the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries, the study recommends applying “relief-development continuum” and “build back better” concepts to the management of disaster risks in order to save lives and to reduce damage to fisheries assets and livelihoods

What’s new, webby?: covering COVID-19

Since its outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, COVID-19 has spread to 202 countries and territories, leading to 14,508,892 confirmed cases and 606,206 deaths as on 20 July, 2020. ICSF SAMUDRA and DC daily news alerts have tracked the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on fisheries value chains since the early stages of the pandemic. Launched in May, ICSF’s new website (https://covid.icsf.net) has drawn on these news alerts and information from ICSF’s networks of members and partners to map the effects of lockdown restrictions, closure of markets and restaurants, and changes in demand and supply of fish and fish products around the world

A study of migrant fishers from Andhra Pradesh in the Gujarat marine fishing industry

The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) has been engaging with issues of concern to fishers and fish workers since its inception in 1986. Among other issues, it studies migration, both international and internal, in the fisheries and the particular vulnerabilities facing migrant fishers with a view to improving the conditions on board vessels through legal and policy interventions. ICSF also engaged with the process leading to the adoption of the Work in Fishing Convention at the 96th International Labour Conference of the International Labour Organization in 2007, of which India is a signatory. In June 2014, India, along with other member states of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), adopted the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, whose charter encompasses employment conditions and social development of fishers, including that of migrants. ICSF believes that improving working and living conditions on fishing vessels can positively influence fisheries management

Human rights/sustainable oceans: a fishbowl approach

In overview of the Danish Institute for Human Rights’ international expert meeting on the contribution of human rights to the sustainable development of fisheries. In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted its resolution, “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” for the overarching goal of poverty eradication and the realization of the human rights of all

MCS (monitoring, control and surveillance): fishing for the future

A World Bank-funded project for 12 countries in the East African and Indian Ocean regions attempts to allow fishers to maximize revenue but not deplete stocks. This interview took place on the sidelines of the Second Regional Workshop on Monitoring, Control and Surveillance, organized by the Bay of Bengal Programme, Inter- Governmental Organisation in Chennai during 3 - 4 October 2018

A good practice guide for ethical and inclusive communications involving small-scale fisheries

Today, small-scale fisheries are experiencing substantial climate, economic, and political changes. The power of communications can greatly influence how fisherfolk and small-scale fisheries are central or marginal, enabled or disenabled among these changes. Messages and discourse can shape perspectives on, and images of, small-scale fisheries, leading actors (including those who have power) to hold certain ideas and views on how they should be governed, thereby influencing outcomes. This guide provides practical and simple guidance on how to communicate about small-scale f isheries in an inclusive, responsible and ethical way that respects and recognizes the 120 million women, men and youth employed and engaged in the sector

Management of Treatment and Prevention of Acute OP Pesticide Poisoning by Medical Informatics, Telemedicine and Nanomedicine

Acute organophosphorous pesticide (OP) poisoning kills a lot of people each year. Treatment of acute OP poisoning is of very difficult task and is a time taking event. Present day informatics methods (telemedicine), bioinformatics methods (data mining, molecular modeling, docking, cheminformatics), and nanotechnology (nanomedicine) should be applied in combination or separately to combat the rise of death rate due to OP poisoning. Use of informatics method such as Java enabled camera mobiles will enable us early detection of insecticidal poisoning. Even the patients who are severely intoxicated (suicidal attempts) can be diagnosed early. Telemedicine can take care for early diagnosis and early treatment. Simultaneously efforts must be taken with regard to nanotechnology to find lesser toxic compounds (use less dose of nanoparticle mediated compounds: nano-malathion) as insecticides and find better efficacy of lesser dose of compounds for treatment (nano-atropine) of OP poisoning. Nano-apitropine (atropine oxide) may be a better choice for OP poisoning treatment as the anticholinergic agent; apitropine and hyoscyamine have exhibited higher binding affinity than atropine sulfate. Synthesis of insecticides (malathion) with an antidote (atropine, apitropine) in nanoscale range will prevent the lethal effect of insecticides