Thoothukudi fishermen seek nod for ‘stay fishing’

Mechanised boats are forced to return the same evening

Demanding the Union and State governments to immediately accord permission for ‘ stay fishing,’ fishermen, along with their family members, resorted to a sit-in strike here on Saturday.

Police and fisheries officials arrived at the spot and pacified them and asked them to disperse. However, after an hour-long persuasion, the fishermen agreed to give up the stir after the officials promised to take up their grievance with the government through the district administration.

Speaking to reporters, Mechanised Boat Owners Welfare Association president Xavier Vaaz said that there were 250 fishermen in Thoothukudi. When the government had given permission for boatowners and fishermen in other coastal districts for ‘stay fishing,’ it had not been extended to fishermen in Thoothukudi.

With ‘stay fishing,’ the fishermen could save money spent on fuel. Every time they ventured into the sea, they spent at least 1,000 litres of diesel. Instead of returning the same evening, overnight stay in the sea would help them catch more fish, he said and added that only when a boat had a catch worth over ₹1.25 lakh, the fishermen would stand to benefit.

For reasons not known, the governments were hesitant to allow ‘stay fishing.’ In almost every other place, the fishermen who used to venture into the sea on a particular day would return ashore the next day evening. However, in Thoothukudi, the mechanised boats were forced to return the same evening. There is consternation among Thoothukudi fishermen over this bias as it limits their earning capacity, another fishermen leader said.

The Fisheries Department officials assured the agitators that that they would take up their grievance with the government and come back with a favourable solution following which they dispersed. Thoothukudi Town DSP Ganesh and team ensured that there was no untoward incident.