Fishermen face ‘giant’ trouble in sea

 Fishing near the Ennore Port, an international cargo vessel damaged his fishing net, leaving him jobless for more than a month

Murugan is now seeking action against the foreign ship. According to a complaint registered with the Fishing Harbour police, Murugan’s fishing nets which were snapped is valued at Rs 2 lakh.

According to Nanjil Ravi, spokesperson, Akhila Indhiya Meenavar Sangam, Murugan’s case was not an isolated incident. “There is an increasing trend of commercial vessels damaging fishing boats off Chennai’s coast due to increasing cargo traffic. Furthermore, there is a threat of fishermen drowning,” he said, adding that there is a demand for additional surveillance on hit and run cases along TN coastal waters.

Murugan has lodged complaints with the Fishing Harbour police, the Chennai Collectorate, the Fisheries Department and the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD), which regulates the merchant shipping laws and rules relating to the safety of ships and life at sea, but not every fisherman has time and the energy to fight the shipping vessels visiting Chennai, explains Ravi.

In the past six years, Tamil Nadu has emerged as a major destination for cargo vessels with major seaports at Chennai, Ennore, Thoothukudi and Nagapattinam recording growth.

“Every month there are cases of fishing nets worth several lakhs being damaged by cargo vessels, but there is no action,” Ravi alleged. He said there was no system in place to check the damage caused to the fishermen, besides the ecological damage to Chennai coast.

“Only major complaints involving casualties or oil spillage is dealt with by the MMD and Fisheries Department, whereas complaints on damages to nets and boats are often ignored. In some cases, there are settlements between the fishermen and the opposite party,” said an informed fisheries department official.

When asked about the safety of fishermen and the recent hit and run cases in mid sea, Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said inquiries into shipping casualties and wrecks are carried out by the MMD. In case of minor accidents and damages to nets, the cases are dealt through dialogues involving fishermen associations, he said.

“There is congestion in Kasimedu due to increased commercial activities. A state-of-the-art dock for deep-sea fishing vessels is coming up at Tiruvottriyur at a cost of Rs 200 crore. This will reduce the number of accidents and enhance the safety of fishermen,” the Minister said, adding that fishermen in case of damage caused to their nets and boats can always seek action by filing police complaints.