NGO urges stronger UN maritime laws at ocean conference

T'puram: Representatives from the city-based ocean conservation NGO, Friends of Marine Life (FML), attended a five-day United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France. They raised concerns about the pollution faced by the Arabian Sea following two shipping disasters near the state's coast.

The sinking of MSC Elsa 3 caused immense pollution along the southern coast, while MV Wan Hai, which caught fire off Kozhikode, carried several chemical cargoes onboard.

In a presentation, the NGO stated that international maritime laws are inadequate to identify and penalise those responsible, as demonstrated by the situation in Kerala. They urged the UN to establish laws to penalise either the manufacturing company or the transporting company if plastic or chemical waste ends up in the ocean.

"This is important because the lives of fisherfolk depend on the ocean's health. Strong regulation would help protect marine habitats, marine life and communities relying on the sea by holding responsible parties accountable. We put this message across at the conference attended by delegates and govt representatives from across the world," said Robert Panipilla of FML, who attended the conference along with research scholar Kumar Sahayaraju.

It was one of the discussions about the challenges faced by Small Scale Fishing (SSF) related to Blue Economy interventions around the world. The discussion was organised by the British Columbia University, Canada.

The NGO also took part in a discussion on the challenges faced by small scale fishing and Blue Economy interventions around the world. FML represents the coastal community, comprising largely of small scale fisherfolk and conducts seabed studies and ocean conservation activities.

The fisheries and environmental ministers from Costa Rica, Senegal, Madagascar and Germany attended the discussion.