Kerala - Kollam   

Fishermen block highway

Staff Reporter

Traditional fishermen seize 30 mechanised boats

KOLLAM: Vehicular traffic was affected on Tuesday morning, as hundreds of men and women employed in the mechanised fishing sector blocked the National Highway for more than three and a half hours at Shakthikulangara. They were demanding the Government's intervention for the release of 30 mechanised fishing boats allegedly being held up by traditional fishermen off the Anchuthengu coast in Thiruvananthapuram since Sunday morning.

The road blockade was lifted by 10 a.m. as the Government invited representatives from both sides for talks in the capital. Minister for Fisheries S. Sarma and Minister for Water Resources N.K. Premachandran participated in the discussions.

During the talks, the traditional fishermen from Mariyanad colony, near Anchuthengu, agreed to release the boats. The Government ordered strong patrolling by the Marine Enforcement Wing along the Anchuthengu coast, said Fisheries Deputy Director R. Rajendran, who attended the meeting.

Catch looted

M.S. James, general secretary of the Kollam District Fishing Boat Operators' Association, alleged that the catch in the boats, estimated at more than Rs. 50 lakh, was looted and sold at Anchuthengu on Sunday. The boat employees were brutally beaten up. The nets in most boats were stolen, the diesel tanks punctured and electronic equipment smashed.

Mr. James, who attended the meeting, said the boat owners were satisfied with the stand taken by the Government during the talks.

The traditional fishermen from Anchuthengu alleged that the mechanised boats were seen operating where trawling was banned. The ban is for a distance of 12 nautical miles from the coast under the Kerala Marine Fishing Regulation Act.

Artificial reefs

They said the boats were found within 3 km from the Anchuthengu coast. They had set up huge artificial reefs off the coast and these had become rich fishing grounds. Trawling destroyed the reefs.

Sunday was a holiday for traditional fishermen, and the mechanised boats "encroached" upon the banned waters following the detection of huge shoals of fish. They rushed to the scene in traditional crafts with high-speed outboard engines and seized the boats.

But the boat owners said the allegation was not true. They were well beyond the 12 nautical mile limit. But the traditional fishermen had vested interests in unleashing the attack, hijacking the boats, looting the catch and nets and destroying the gadgets, Mr. James alleged.

The Ministers told the representatives of the traditional fishermen that irrespective of whether the boats were fishing within the 12 nautical mile limit, no one should take the law into their hands by engaging in boat hijacks.

The Ministers told the boat owners that if they had suffered losses, police complaints could be lodged.

To study issue

With regard to setting up artificial reefs in the sea and claiming monopoly over it, the meeting decided to conduct a study into the issue and then arrive at a decision on whether that was a destructive mode of fishing. The boat owners expected the release of the boats latest by Wednesday morning, Mr. James said.

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