Citing livelihood, fishermen seek modification of ban period

To increase marine livestock, the Central government along with the state governments implements a fishing ban on both the eastern and western coasts once a year for a period of 61 days. On the eastern coast, the ban commences on April 15 and will be in force till June 14.

Speaking to DT Next, Sahayam, president, Rameswaram Mechanised Boat Fishermen Association, said that when the fishing ban commences, more than 2,000 mechanised boats in Ramanathapuram district will stay away from fishing and close to one lakh workers dependent on it will lose their jobs. 

Seeking a modification of the ban period, Sahayam said, “Presently, the ban period will end on June 15 but the schools for our children starts in June first week. When the schools open, fishermen will not have money to pay fees for their children. Hence, the ban period should be modified to run from April 1 to May 31.”

Claiming that the compensation amount given by the government is not sufficient, Sahayam said, a compensation of Rs 200 per day by state government and the same amount from central government should be given to the fishermen.