Proposed Notification on designated corridor for merchant ships to avoid ship-boat collisions in mid sea Request for direct consultations on the matter with fishermen of coastal states before finalizing the Notification. We learned from the media (The Hindu Daily of 6th September 2018) that the Director General of Shipping (DGS) is in the process of notifying a designated corridor for merchant ships to avoid ships and fishing boats collision in mid sea. Though the fishermen are very much interested in finding a solution to the increasing incidences of collision of boats and ships in mid sea, the current move from the DGS can be seen as unilateral to protect the interests of commercial shipping companies by completely sidelining the livelihood interests of fishermen. This is clear from the statements of Nautical Adviser in-charge of DGS to the media that the consultations are in the final stages for a concrete traffic separation scheme for the west coast but the fact is that no fishermen groups in the region were consulted by the Ministry of Shipping so far to discuss and finalise the scheme. This matter came to our attention also through the media only. As far as we understood, the DGS is planning for a corridor which is 15 nautical miles away from the coastline with 20 nautical miles width. This is the main fishing ground where thousands of fishing boats are doing fishing and the present move from the side of DGS is to completely stop fishing operation in it. Though the DGS is saying that the corridor will not be uniform along the coast, this cannot be acceptable to the fishermen who are solely dependent on it for their livelihood. Though the plan of the DGS is to mark the corridor on the map but they are keen to know how the fishermen will figure out boundaries/extent of the corridor in the sea. Once the Notifications are issued, we suspect that, the provisions in it will safeguard the shipping companies to evade from the responsibility of collision and leaving the fishermen as the main culprit. The fishermen are not only losing their fishing ground but may become liable and punishable for trespassing in the corridor. In short, from the limited details available on the proposed notification, National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) is very much apprehensive of this unilateral move from the side of DGS to proceed with it without consulting the fishermen. As representative of the fishermen of the region, we request the Ministry of Shipping to proceed with this only after ensuring the full confidence of the fishermen in the matter by taking care of their livelihood interests through transparent consultation processes at all possible levels. We also want to use this opportunity to make it very clear that the fishermen may have to resist the move of the Ministry if their livelihood interests are not protected and provisions are not ensured for their safety and security in future incidences of collisions.