Fishermen have expressed concern over the exclusion of fishing grounds stretching from Ennore to Kalanji from the final draft of the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP). They have urged the Tamil Nadu Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNCZMA) to officially recognise and include these areas to protect their traditional fishing practices.

The CZMP, first released in 2018, was criticised by fishermen for leaving outseveral important fishing areas. Following protests and an order from the Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal, the CZMP maps were revised.

Recently, Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary of the Department of Environment, Climate Change, and Forests, told the TNCZMA to conduct a consultation meeting with the fishermen before the public hearing. During one such meeting on March 5, fishermen in Ennore were shown the revised maps. When the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management presented the final draft, the fishermen discovered that key fishing areas in Kattukuppam and Mugathwarakuppam had been left out.

Following this, R.L. Srinivasan, a representative from Kattukuppam, sent a letter to TNCZMA Director, expressing concern over the omission of critical fishing zones on the Ennore coastline, especially in estuarine areas. These zones, mapped using the geographic information system, were submitted as official documentation.

“We were saddened to find these traditional fishing grounds, used not only by the people of Kattukuppam, Mugathwarakuppam, and Sivanpadaiveethikuppam but also by those from neighbouring villages when the sea turned rough, missing,” he said.

Fisherfolk are worried that the exclusion of these areas could pave the way for the expansion of Adani Port in Kalanji village, he said. They have requested that these traditional fishing grounds be included in the CZMP under the Coastal Regulation Zone, 2019, guidelines.