Fishermen associations ask Collector to fix fair price for the catch

 

As 61-day fishing ban period is to end on June 14, fishermen associations during their grievance meeting at Collectorate here on Friday appealed to the district administration to fix a fair selling price for the catch of the fishermen.  

M. Karunamoorthy, Sea Workers Association – CITU, said that as fishermen would usually go a day before the banning period ends, most of them would return with an ample catch. 

He added that most of the catch, including fish and prawns, due to the insufficient facility to preserve, would get spoiled when it was not bought by the public or by the export companies.  

Using that, the export companies, under the guise of supporting the fishermen, demand the catch for a very minimum price, Mr. Karunamoorthy noted.  

To prevent any of this, he asked the district administration to ensure that the boats leave from the shore after prior permission and also to check that they were getting a fair price for their catch from the export companies. 

He further stated that the trawlers from Nagapattinam and Karaikal attached with engines more than the permitted horsepower were depleting the fish resources in the shallow coastal areas of Palk Strait.  

By acting against the Tamil Nadu government’s rules, the fishermen from those areas were intruding into the regions of Palk Strait. Due to the exorbitant catch, fishermen of Rameswaram, Danushkodi and Sri Lanka were left with fewer fishes, he complained.  

During the recent survey of fishing boats in the region, officials found that several boats possessed fake registration certificates. 

“Due to the fake registration certificates, the government providing them with subsidised fuel is facing a heavy loss,” he noted.  

A. Shanmuganadhan of Country Boats and Small-Scale Fishermen Association, through a petition, sought permission to use Suzuki and Yamaha company engines for their fibre boats.  

“Though the Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department has permitted usage of engines with horsepower up to 28, the Rameswaram fisheries office, prevents us from using engines of the two companies with only 9.9HP engine power,” he added.  

As the other company engines were consuming more fuel that the engines of Yamaha and Suzuki, fishermen preferred the two companies to the other older companies, he said.  

But the officials threaten the fishermen that if they use those two engines they would not be provided subsidised and other benefits, he alleged.  

“When the two company engines are allowed in areas like Vedaranyam, Kodiyakkarai and even in Mandapam, we are not sure why only in Rameswaram is it not allowed,” he questioned.  

He appealed to the District Collector Simranjeet Singh Kahlon, to intervene in the issue and provide them with permission to use fuel economy engines.  

S. Sikkimuniyayi of Natarajapuram in Rameswaram, demanded for compensation from the government for his husband who was lost in the sea while fishing.  

“My husband Suresh who ventured out for fishing on November 11, 2024, went missing in the sea while returning to the shore. Despite search conducted by Indian Coast Guard and marine police, he was not found,” she added.  

As she lives along with her three children, surviving with the minimum wage she earns was an arduous task, she stated.  

She said though the government has sanctioned compensation for the loss of her husband, she has not received it.  

X. Nallathambi of National Traditional Fishermen Federation demanded for action against the Liberian vessel company which caused the accident and spoiled several areas of the sea. 

“As the debris has reached even their region, they should be cleared on an emergency basis and adequate compensation should be provided to the fishermen who are to face a heavy loss due to the chemicals and plastic pellets,” he added.  

Mr. Simranjeet Singh Kahlon appealed to the fishermen to operate boats only within the permitted limits.

He also assured that he would take steps through Fisheries Department to ensure a fair price for their catch.