 bill no 76 of  2009 the constitution (amendment) bill, 2009 byshri anantkumar hegde, mp a billfurther to amend the constitution of indiabe it enacted by parliament in the sixtieth year of the republic of india as follows:—short title1 this act may be called the constitution (amendment) act, 2009 2 in the seventh schedule to the constitution,—amendment of the seventh schedule(ii) in list iii—concurrent list, after entry 17b, the following new entries shallbe inserted, namely:—"17c fisheries 17d protection of marine biodiversity" statement  of  objects  and  reasonsfisheries constitute one of the important means of livelihood, especially for those living in coastal regions in coastal regions, the occupation of fishery besides being a constant source of income of the people of the region, also support their daily meal requirements but in the present economic scenario, greed has overtaken this sector and with the entry of trading institutions in the sector, the exploitation of fisheries is now going on at an alarming rate the number of fish available is on the decline fish are caught even during breeding season some states have banned the operation of trawlers during breeding season, but it is not uniform fisheries being in the state list, all the states have different laws on the subject and, at times these laws are made to cater to the interests of companies operating large trawlers without keeping in mind the overall interests of fisheries all this may have a bearing not only on our marine resources but also on the right to livelihood of small fishermen moreover, the technique employed by large trawlers is not sustainable for maintaining a healthy breeding and catching ratio it is high time that the country took positive and concrete steps to protect its fisheries and marine resources therefore, the bill seeks to transfer the entry relating to fisheries from the state list to the concurrent listpresently, a number of systems exist for the protection of marine resources and marine environment, but they are not only complex and confusing but are also costly and do not provide a strategic approach to address the issueinserting a new entry in the concurrent list of the seventh schedule to our constitution for the protection of marine biodiversity will go a long way in introducing a new system of marine planning as well as giving the issue the importance it deserves it will also help bringing about uniformity in legislation regarding the use of fisheries, marine space and the interaction between its uses therefore, it is necessary that we have a separate entry for protection of marine biodiversity in our constitutionhence this billnew delhi;anantkumar hegdejuly 7, 2009 schedules seventh  schedule list ii      21 fisheries       list iii      17b protection of wild animals and birds       lok   sabha———— a billfurther to amend the constitution of india————(shri anantkumar hegde, mp)gmgipmrnd—3825ls(s5)—26-10-2009