Setting sail under the shadows of the deadlock in the second round of talks between the fishermen of Sri Lanka and India on the issue of phasing out trawling, fishing boats of the district ended the 45-day ban in the early hours of Friday.
It was anticipation and anxiety at the commencement of the new season and a new year, what with the spotlight heavily on the fishermen of the State for their use of banned and unsustainable fishing practices. Burdened with a sense of pressure from within and from across the Palk Bay, over 472 fishing boats ventured out, taking tokens from the Department of Fisheries much before dawn.
However, beyond this official count, many boats started venturing out without taking tokens in a bid to make the most of the first day of the new season.
There is equally a sense of heightened caution as the boats set sail on the conclusion of the 45-day ban period. Recently, there was a freeze of camaraderie between Nambiyar Nagar fishing village and other villages led by the head fishing hamlet of Akkarapettai over the use of purse seining. The hamlet has since been barred from the use of purse seine nets.
As of date, except in parts of Pazhayar along the Sirkazhi coast, purse seines are not in vogue. Similarly, pair trawling has been out of practice in these parts of the coast.
Speaking to The Hindu , S. Citravelu, panchayat of Nambiyar Nagar fishing hamlet, said there was no question of “our fishermen breaching the International Maritime Boundary Line.”
Responding to the Ramanathapuram fishermen’s call for punitive action against boats using purse seines, Mr. Chitravelu said the district fishermen did not use them.
