IWMC wants all our supporters and readers to know about the steadfast heroism and integrity of Father Thomas Kochery, the "Fisherman Priest" of India. Father Kochery has long fought for the rights of India's fishermen to sustainably fish their waters without depredation by pollution or foreign fleets, and he has become an advocate for fishermen who call for an end to marine pollution by large industrial organizations such as oil companies.

The World Forum of Fish Harvesters and Fish Workers held a conference in New Delhi last June, which was attended by over 150 delegates from 32 fishing nations. On that occasion Father Kochery, the founding director of The National Fish Workers Forum in India, was awarded a $150,000 grant from the Pew Foundation, which he publicly refused to accept. The grant was in recognition of his many years of advocacy for fishermen's rights, but Father Kochery declined to accept it because the Pew Foundation is sponsored by the Sun Oil Company, which the Fisherman Priest calls "one of the worst polluters of the sea."

Father Kochery felt that to accept money that originated from Sun Oil would have been a betrayal of all those whose lives and livelihoods depend on unspoiled marine resources.

IWMC applauds Father Kochery for setting an example of integrity for all of us.