The Tamil Nadu fisheries department has proposed to link the Rameswaram fishermen, who have taken to deep sea fishing with an amalgamation of tuna fish exporters in Tamil Nadu and Kerala to help the fishermen get better price for their catch.
Stating that the first two voyages of the first batch of fishermen in deep sea fishing in the Arabian sea was hugely encouraging, Additional Director of fisheries (Ramanathapuram) Johny Tom Varghese said the tie-up would also help the fishermen develop the infrastructure facilities to come out with high quality catch.
The department has arranged a meeting between the beneficiaries of deep sea fishing and the exporters in Kerala, next week at Cochin, he said. “Plans are afoot to link the beneficiaries with exporters in Chennai, Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari,” he said.
Pointing out that there was dire need for high quality tuna species in the export market, Mr Varghese said under the proposed linking programme, the exporters would help the fishermen with advanced cold storage and other infrastructure facilities to maintain high quality.
After seeing the success stories of their colleagues, more and more fishermen were warming up to deep sea fishing, he said. The department proposed to bring in about 300 beneficiaries into the project by the end of this year, he added. “We are planning to introduce smaller vessels with more affordable price tags to attract more fishermen,” he said.
The project was conceived with the main objective of weaning away the Rameswaram fishermen who get arrested by the Sri Lankan navy and their boats confiscated when they trespassed into the Lankan waters while fishing in the Palk Bay.
