Kerala faces fish famine for the first time in decades

Environment: An unprecedented and alarming decline in the availability of fish has resulted in fishing boats in Kerala remaining idle and not venturing into the sea. This is causing anxiety among the fishing community as they fear that it may be a sign of the changing marine environment and its capacity to replenish fish stock.

About 80 percent of the trawlers have stopped going to the sea and traditional fisher folk have revealed that there has been a significant decline in the availability of pelagic fish species such as mackerel and sardine.

“Only small units are venturing into the sea at present and they are able to survive as the prices have skyrocketed due to the shortage. We agree that this is a lean season, but we have never experienced such scarcity before,” says Jackson Pollayil, President, Kerala Swatantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation.

Fishers believe that pollution, overfishing, and the possible change in migratory patterns of pelagic fish (influenced by rising sea temperatures and climate change) might have contributed to the decline. Other factors include the use of unscientific fishing methods, and overexploitation due to the increased number of crafts in the sea.

“Along with the low availability of fish, the hike in fuel prices has left us in a difficult spot. The diesel price was around INR 62 last year, but now it has touched INR 86 which makes a huge difference in total expenditure. If we can’t return with a reasonably good catch, the result will be mounting debts and we have decided to stay off waters due to this,” says Peter Mathias, president, All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators Association.

Read this article to know more about India’s fisheries.

Fundraising & Communications: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a circular extending the validity of FCRA registration certificates to September 30th, 2021. This applies to all FCRA licences that have expired or will expire between September 29th, 2020 and May 31st, 2021. The decision to extend the deadline has been driven by the exigencies arising from the COVID-19 situation.

FCRA refers to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010, which permits charitable organisations based in India to raise funds from foreign sources.

The order also clarified that nonprofits that have already opened an account and have the requisite permission to receive foreign aid, can henceforth receive it only in these newly-opened accounts.

The FCRA law was amended in September 2020 to include a clause that mandated that all nonprofits receiving foreign aid must necessarily open an account in State Bank of India’s New Delhi Main Branch. The government had initially set the deadline for this account opening as March 31st, 2021; it later extended it to June 30th, 2021 after several nonprofits argued in court that there had been delays because necessary approvals from MHA had not been received.

Several organisations have not been able to receive foreign funds during the crisis caused by the second wave, and this has impacted their COVID-19 relief efforts. Relaxing the foreign funding rules could significantly help organisations ramp up their operations to help individuals, supply critical healthcare equipment, and respond to communities in rural areas.

Read this article to know how amending the FCRA can have unforeseen implications.

Philanthropy & CSR: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has issued a circular that allows corporate spending on health infrastructure for COVID-19 care to qualify as corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure.

This includes setting up medical oxygen generation and storage plants, manufacturing and supply of oxygen concentrators, ventilators, cylinders, and other medical equipment to counter COVID-19.  

The announcement comes at a time when all efforts are being directed towards expediting efforts to support the country’s healthcare infrastructure.

According to the circular, companies can now undertake projects and activities in collaboration with other companies using CSR funds. Additionally, they can contribute to specified research and development projects, as well as publicly funded universities and certain organisations that conduct research in science, technology, engineering, and medicine.

The government had earlier clarified that setting up makeshift hospitals and temporary COVID-19 care facilities would also be considered a CSR activity. Rajesh Verma, the Corporate Affairs Secretary, has requested businesses to consider converting vacant office buildings into COVID-19 facilities to cater to the rapidly increasing caseload.

Read this article to understand why media attention on COVID-19 deaths due to lack of oxygen in big cities has skewed donor priorities.