Kerala fishermen seek govt. intervention for boat insurance

High premium dissuading boat owners from going for insurance cover

KOCHI A series of accidents in the sea off the coast of Kerala involving both traditionally modified canoes and fishing boats have given rise to a demand from fishers unions that the government take steps to ensure that fishing boats and traditional canoes came under insurance cover. Jackson Pollayil of Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Federation, an independent union of fishers, said insuring fishing boats involved high premium, which dissuaded a vast majority of boat owners from going for it. He said fish catch was seasonal, and that there was no certainty on regular returns from fishing ventures. Such a situation warrants hard calculations on the part of fishing boat owners, who are not always interested in investing in insurance schemes, he added. Fisheries Department sources said though boat owners had been advised to take insurance cover, they had not complied for various reasons.