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Modern catamarans shore up fishermen’s spirits

— Photo:T. Singaravelou

ADVANTAGEOUS: Inland fishermen casting nets from their HDPE catamarans at Uppanar estuary.

PUDUCHERRY: It is often said that only creaking wheels are oiled. Skirting this general rule, three non-governmental organisations have come to the rescue of the voiceless — inland fishermen in two villages — by providing them with better fishing gear through technology-transfer.

At a function marked by austerity, the NGOs, Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre (MCRC), The Oikos Trust for Environmental Management (TOTEM) and Regional Ecology and Environmental Federation (REEF), presented two high density polyethylene (HDPE) catamarans to self-help groups comprising inland fishermen of the tsunami-hit Thengaithittu and Veerampattinam villages close to the Uppanar estuary.

The catamarans have been developed by the MCRC as part of efforts to evolve and apply appropriate, pro-poor, eco-friendly rural and coastal technologies, according to K.Ilangovan, research scholar in the Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University.

The catamarans are of 8 x1.25m size. They have been fabricated using eight HDPE pipes with a tilted front of 45 degrees so as to facilitate faster mobility even during rough tides.

“The catamaran enables efficient fishing. Easy to maintain, it has a longer life and costs Rs.38,000,” he points out.

The HDPE catamaran can carry 500 kg of fish catch and a four-member crew whereas the conventional catamarans have the capacity to carry 300 kg fish and two fishermen.

TOTEM and REEF have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the beneficiaries for ensuring a long term sustainability of the initiative that has incorporated their rights and responsibilities. The terms and conditions include equal sharing of benefits from fish catch and ploughing back of 10-15 per cent of the income into the revolving fund.

For the inland fishermen of the villages in the area, the project has come as a boon as they have to face a plenty of problems, says local municipal councillor S.Baskaran.

Productivity took a nosedive, owing to sediment load and hydrology had been altered, owing to the tsunami. It took nearly six months for these fishermen to recover from the trauma, he recalls.

Now that the inland fishermen can use the HDPE catamarans to go for fishing in the sea up to a distance of 10 km from the shores and using more nets, their revenue has risen remarkably.

These catamarans also have an added advantage: during summer, when fishing fetches less revenue, the fishermen can use them to carry tourists in the picturesque estuary and earn more revenue, Mr.Ilangovan points out.

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