Dakshinbanga Matsyajibi Forum (DMF) welcomes the publication of the Draft National Marine Fisheries (Regulation & Management) Bill, 2019. The initiative to enact legislation on fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the country has been long due as there has been no regulation and little management of fishing in the more than 2 million square kilometres of marine waters in Indian EEZ. But Dakshinbanga Matsyajibi Forum (DMF) is constrained to state that publication of the Draft National Marine Fisheries (Regulation & Management) Bill, 2019only in English will make the common marine fishers and fish workers, who are the majority of the stakeholders, unable to go through the draft bill and offer their comments. The draft bill must be published in all the languages of maritime states of the country and sufficient time should be provided for the fishing communities to offer their comments on it. Some basic concerns that deserve to be addressed in the Draft Bill: A. Preferential access of small scale fishers to marine fish resources in the Indian EEZ in compliance with the principles of sustainable fisheries and promotion of fishers’ livelihood enshrined in the National Policy for Marine Fisheries (NPMF). B. Promotion of small scale fishing in the Indian EEZ. C. Penalties for violation of the provisions of the Draft Bill should be more for the larger fishing boats or their owners / operators than that for the smaller fishing boats or their owner / operators. D. Dual license regime should be avoided and there should be institutionalisation of single or unified license for fishing boats operating in both the territorial waters and the EEZ by the Central and concerned State/UT Governments. E. In view of the commonness and integration existing in ecosystems, fish resources and fishing in both territorial and EEZ waters and also in view of the fact that small scale fishers are fishing both within and outside the territorial waters in increasing number, there should be integrated and coordinated approach between the Draft Bill and concerned State Marine Fishing Regulation Acts. This would require creation of relevant provisions in the Draft Bill and existing state Marine Fishing Regulation Acts. F. The operation or implementation of the Draft Bill is largely dependent on the Fisheries Management Plan. As such preparation and adoption of Fisheries Management Plan by concerned authorities in both Central and State / UT Governments should be made a condition to the operationalisation of the Draft Bill.