District Collector C.A. Latha has warned fishermen against venturing into sea without life-saving equipment. Stringent action will be taken against those violating the guidelines. The Collector was speaking at a meeting at the collectorate here on Wednesday ahead of enforcing the monsoon trawl ban.
The warning comes in the wake of the recent incident wherein two fishermen from Vellayil were killed after their motor-fitted country boat was reportedly hit by a vessel at night off the Puthiyappa coast.
She said that the Department of Fisheries had distributed lifebuoys, life-jackets and Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB) to the fishermen. But a majority of them went to sea without the equipment. On several occasions, the authorities had been misled by wrong signals after children played with these EPIRB, Ms. Latha said. Two fishermen, S.P. Sivadasan, 52, and N.P. Prakashan, 55, had set sail in the boat, Manava Maithri, made of fibre and plywood, on May 29. They were at least 25 nautical miles off the coast at night when the accident occurred. The Coast Guard and Navy failed to find the missing fishermen. Later their bodies were washed ashore at Munambam, near Azhikkode, in Thrissur district on Tuesday.
The Collector said that the Coastal Vigilance Committees would soon be summoned for creating awareness of adopting safety measures during seafaring.
Steps would be taken to coordinate the activities of Coastal Police, Coast Guard, Marine Enforcement, Fisheries Department and Harbour Department for improving rescue operations at sea, she said.
