DOCUMENTARY -- Under the Sun: The transient fisherfolk of Jambudwip

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Post to * "OneWorld South Asia Partnership"

International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF)
27 College Road
Chennai 600 006
India
Tel: 91-44-28275303
Fax: 91-44-28254457

www.icsf.net http://www.icsf.net
www.icsf.org http://www.icsf.org

Under the Sun:
The transient fisherfolk of Jambudwip

A film recently produced by ICSF documents the plight of the
transient fisherfolk of Jambudwip island in West Bengal, India

Direction: Rita Banerji
Duration: 36 minutes
Language: English
Produced by: International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, 27
College Road, Chennai 600006, India.
Email:
Site: www.icsf.net http://www.icsf.net
Tel: +91-44- 28275303
For copies in India Rs.150/-
For copies outside India: $15 plus actual postage

Jambudwip is a 20-sq km island in the district of South 24-Parganas, in the
Indian State of West Bengal, in the Sunderbans delta. Since at least 1955,
Jambudwip has been used as a base for fishery operations and as a
fish-drying site, mostly by small-scale, artisanal fishworkers. Behundi jal
or stake-net fishery is the traditional activity practised in different
parts of the Sunderbans delta. The largest stake-net fishing operation in
the Sunderbans is based in Jambudwip. However, this traditional source of
livelihood and sustenance is now under serious threat. It is being alleged
that the seasonal ?occupation? of the Jambudwip island by fishermen and the
fish-drying activity is a non-forest activity that cannot be permitted under
the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, without prior approval of the central
government. The West Bengal government has been asked to remove all traces
of ?encroachment? on Jambudwip island.

While the Fisheries Department of West Bengal has strongly defended the
fishermen?s claim to the seasonal use of the island for their fishery, the
State?s Forest Department is bitterly opposed. The fishermen are now living
in the shadow of uncertainty. Will their two- generations old fishery be
treated as an activity eligible for regularization or will they be summarily
evicted when their fisheries are dismissed as ineligible for regularization?

These issues are dealt with in the documentary film, Under the Sun, produced
by the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) and
directed by Rita Banerji for Dusty Foot Productions. The film tackles the
issues involved in the stake-net fishery of Jambudwip. It traces the genesis
of the standoff between the fishworkers and the government, and analyzes the
processes that led to the government action against the traditional
fishworkers. It also documents the response of the fishworkers, as well as
the actions taken by the National Fishworkers? Forum to help them regain
their rights to the fishery.

International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF)
27 College Road
Chennai 600 006
India
Tel: 91-44-28275303
Fax: 91-44-28254457

www.icsf.net http://www.icsf.net
www.icsf.org http://www.icsf.org

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