Annual inspection of mechanised boats begins in Thoothukudi district

Annual inspection of mechanised boats in Thoothukudi district reveals violations of length and engine horsepower regulations, impacting registration and subsidies.

The annual inspection of mechanised boats in Thoothukudi district began on Tuesday.

Officials of the fisheries department checked if the boats had been built in violation of norms and hauled by superpower engines. Under the Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing Regulation Rules, 1983, the mechanised fishing boats should not exceed the length of 24 metres and should be hauled by engine not exceeding 240 Horsepower.

If a boat is built in violation of the specifications, it would not be registered and it would not get subsidised diesel of 1,500 litre a month. If such unregistered boats are involved in any high-sea mishaps, no compensation or insurance benefits would be given..

 However, most of the boats are now being built in Thoothukudi district, particularly in Thoothukudi Fishing Harbour, in violation of these norms. When the fisheries officials checked the specifications of mechanised boats last year ahead of the end of the annual fishing ban on June 15, they found that more than 75 boats had been built in violation of norms and were fishing without any restriction. Since the officials did not take any action against the erring boats, the violation continues this year too.

 “Most of the boats now being built in Thoothukudi are longer [up to 30 metres] and fitted with engines with horsepower up to 500, while the permissible horsepower is only 240 HP. Hence, these boats cannot be registered here. They are, however, allowed to go in for fishing without any government assistance like subsidised diesel even though they are allowed to be berthed in Thoothukudi Fishing Harbour. As the norm is not clear that the boats built in violation of norms should be impounded, we cannot do anything,” a senior official said,

The mechanised boats in all other places of Tamil Nadu strictly follow norms. “The violation is done wilfully only in Thoothukudi,” the official added.

 Since most of the fishermen, after the fishing practices have undergone sweeping changes, are switching over to either fiberglass or steel wide-body boats with increased length up to 30 metres, instead of traditional wooden crafts due to lesser maintenance, these heavier vessels have to necessarily be fitted with powerful engines. A good number of boat owners has fitted their vessels with imported Cummins or Caterpillar engines or overhauled secondhand engines sourced from deep borewell machines. While the imported 400 HP engines are costly (₹20 lakh), the secondhand borewell engines are available for ₹5 lakh and can be overhauled at a cost of ₹3 lakh. So, these cheaper engines with 500 HP are the first choice of the violators.