A mechanised boat of Tuticorin Fishing Harbour was ‘captured' by fishermen of Punniakayal and the fishing operations by mechanised boats came to a halt here on Monday.
Two hundred and twenty nine mechanised boats remain anchored at the shore.
Due to a conflict between fishermen dealing with mechanised boats and country craft over settlement of compensation for damage caused to fishing nets of country boat fishermen, the mechanised boat was forcibly taken away.
Over 270 country boats were being engaged in fishing from Punnaikayal, a coastal hamlet. M. Viston, president of Punnaikayal said mechanised boat owners were liable to pay a 3-month compensation.
Fishing was not being done as per the Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing Regulation Act. Strictly speaking, fishermen of mechanised boats should operate only between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m.. But fishing was being done beyond the stipulated time.
Such violations were being ignored by the enforcement agencies, he added.
S. Joe Boy, president, Mechanised Boat Owners Association, sought the intervention of authorities concerned to frame new regulations for safe fishing. A peace committee meeting led by B. Packiam Devakirubai, RDO, was convened at Tiruchendur on Sunday evening but consensus was not reached yet.
