Various fishermen’s organisations on Wednesday demanded a Fishers Rights Act to protect interests of the marine fishermen, the communities which are not into active fishing, the coastal communities who depend on it and the coastal poor. Such an Act would safeguard their lands, livelihood rights and habitat, said Jesurethinam Christy, convenor, Coastal Action Network (CAN). At present, coastal land is a prime target. In the context of the Sagarmala Plan, the coast, the ocean and even the sea bed are being monetised through tourism and industrialisation. There is no longer any space for traditional fishermen, she said. Representatives of the organisations were speaking at a State-level meeting on evolving strategies for securing land and housing rights of the fishing communities in the event of disaster. The meet was organised by CAN and supported by National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF) and T.N. Women Fishworkers’ Sangam. T. Peter, general secretary, NFF, said fishers across the country wanted a separate Ministry. The NFF would join with other organisations to ensure that this demand was included in the manifestos of major political parties, he added. We don’t want the current CRZ notification and want the hazard line to be marked so that in the event of rise in sea level, no development can happen inside that zone, he said. Pooja of the Coastal Resource Centre said that issues pertaining to salt water intrusion and food safety too need to be looked at along with rising ocean levels.