PANJIM, Feb. 13 -- Team Herald

The National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) has slammed Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, for presenting Union Budget without offering no direct benefits to the country's small-scale fishers.

In a statement, NFF general secretary Olencio Simoes alleged that the government is shifting focus away from marine fisheries to non-fishers and aquaculture.

Calling the Union budget a mockery of traditional fishers, Simoes pointed out that the only fisheries-related provisions in the budget was reduction in basic customs duty (BCD) on frozen fish paste (surimi) from 30 per cent to 5 per cent and a BCD reduction on fish hydrolysate for shrimp and fish feed from 15 per cent to 5 per cent.

"Unregulated fishing withi...