The Department of Fisheries has made extensive arrangements for preventing the invasion of mechanised boats from neighbouring Kerala into Tamil Nadu waters for fishing during the 45-day ban.
As the annual ban, imposed every year between April 15 and May 29 to facilitate fish breeding, commenced on Friday, 417 mechanised boats have been anchored at Thoothukudi, Tharuvaikulam and Vembar. The fishermen utilise this season for repairing their boats, fishnets and other related works.
When the mechanised boats from western Kanyakumari and Kerala invaded into the Tamil Nadu waters during the fishing ban period last year, three boats with 35 fishermen were detained by the patrolling Indian Coast Guard vessels. Though the fishermen were released following registration of cases and stern warning, the boats were freed only after the end of the ban period.
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“We’ve taken all preventive measures for stopping the invasion of mechanized boats from western Kanyakumari and Kerala into our waters during the ban period. We, through the Collector, have forwarded appeals to the Indian Coast Guard requesting it to intensify patrolling in this region to check fishing operations,” said Sivakumar, Assistant Director of Fisheries.
The department had also sent letters to the fishermen cooperative societies, mechanised boats owners’ associations and the police and fisheries department of Kerala, appealing to them not to allow their fishermen to carry out fishing operations along the eastern coast between Kanyakumari and Thiruvallur, he said.