History of KDFSF
Kanyakumari District Fishermen Sangams’ Federation (KDFSF) is a welfare organization established solely for the welfare of fisher folk inhabited at the coastal belt of Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea of the District. The early seventies, a time of severe exploitation made by middle men and fish merchants against the traditional fishermen, who engaged in small scale fishing. In the meantime, Kottar Roman Catholic Diocease intervened to redeem the traditional fishermen from the clutches of the agents and the middlemen. Kottar Social Service Society (KSSS) of Kottar Diocease organized young fishermen societies are known as Fish Marketing Societies (FMS). Fr.James Tomber played the instrumental role in organizing those grumbling artisanal fishermen towards the formation of Fishermen Societies in 1973.
KDFSF History Timeline
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Early 1970sChallenges Faced by FishermenTraditional fishermen faced severe exploitation by middlemen and fish merchants, leading to hardships for small-scale fishing communities.
- 1973Formation of Fish Marketing Societies (FMS)The Kottar Roman Catholic Diocese, through Kottar Social Service Society (KSSS) and under the guidance of Fr. James Tomber, organized young fishermen into Fish Marketing Societies to protect them from exploitation.
- 1983Decision to Form an Apex BodyA momentous decision was made to form an Apex Body at the district level for the protection, growth, and socio-economic development of the small-scale fishing community.
- 1984Establishment of KDFSFKDFSF was established as an apex body for the fishermen societies and was registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1975.
- 1984-PresentOperations and GrowthKDFSF operates through 48 fishermen societies, covering over 3712 small-scale fishermen families in 39 coastal villages. The federation has promoted 810 Joint Liability Groups (JLG) with 4043 women members, working towards the integrated development of the fishing community.