With the fishermen getting ready to venture into the sea — as the 61-day fishing holiday on the West Coast ended on July 31— the Coast Guard has urged the community to take precautionary measures.
All mechanised vessels, which had been berthed from June 1 following the holiday, would set on sail from August 1. “The monsoon is still on and the sea would be rough. Hence they have to be careful,” said Coast Guard Karnataka Commander K.R. Suresh chairing a meeting to evaluate the preparations for post-fishing holiday season at the Coast Guard Headquarters here recently.
Special community interaction programmes with the fishing community would be organised to sensitise them on safety aspects.
Check seaworthiness
The Coast Guard has urged fishermen to undertake seaworthiness checks of their boats in a systematic manner.
They should check weather forecasts, carry distance alerting transmitters, radio communication equipment, life saving appliances, documents of boats, Biometric identity cards, additional mobile phones/batteries, temporary repair kits, first aid kit, extra fuel and ration, flashlights with additional batteries and necessary medicines while venturing into sea.
Fishing boats should operate either in pairs or groups, Mr. Suresh added.
Merchant ships too
Coast Guard Karnataka has also requested all merchant ships and dhows to follow the laid down SOPs (standard operating procedures).
The masters of the merchant vessels should ensure sea worthiness of their vessels. They should also ensure even loading and proper securing of the cargo.
Frequent rounds of the ships should be undertaken. Maintenance and upkeep of the machinery and propulsion systems should be undertaken as per schedule. The second anchor and chain cable should be kept standby in case of the merchant vessels at anchorage.
Besides rescue ships, the Coast Guard has been operating Dornier aircraft equipped for swift response to maritime Search and Rescue, pollution and maritime reconnaissance capabilities for the coastal security of the State. The assistance from Indian Coast Guard can be sought round the clock on toll free number - 1554. VHF channel 16 may also be utilised for reporting the emergency situation on the boats.
Coastal facts
Karnataka has 5.93 lakh hectares of inland water resources, 8,000 hectare of brackish water and 320 km of coastline with 27,000 sq. km of continental shelf
The State has 17,927 fishing boats and trawlers with 3.28 lakh people being employed in the fishing industry
Karnataka is ranked sixth in marine fish production
in India (about 5.55 lakh tonnes every year)
