Tension after gang blocks fishing boats in Thoothukudi

Amidst growing conflict between the owners of registered and unregistered boats, unregistered operators-in a gross violation of the law-took off to the sea on Monday. While the Madras High Court had ordered the Fisheries Department to not allow unregistered boats fishing off Thoothukudi coast since October 2018, these operators acted in contravention to the order and the Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing Regulation Act (TNMFRA) 1983.

Furthermore, when these operators were questioned, they blocked the exit channel off Thoothukudi coast on Tuesday morning with their boats, seeking support for multi-day fishing. Most of the unregistered big boat operators had been demanding multi-day fishing at sea against daily fishing activity, sources said.

It is unfortunate that even registered boats are blocked forcibly from fishing, said Rajendran, president of the Small Mechanized Boat Owners Association in the district.

As per TNMFRA guidelines, a fishing boat should have a maximum length of 24 meters and an engine with power up to 240 horse-power. In the wake of the court order, several operators of boats that were beyond this capacity, too, even complied.

The boats that were illegally blocked on Tuesday were stocked up with ice bars and also loaded with fuel, said Joeboy, a boat owner. Adequate compensation should be given to compensate the loss incurred by these detained boat owners, he said.

Even though fisheries officials and the police had powers to punish those blocking the fishing fleet, no action had been taken against the accused, he rued.

A complaint was, however, lodged with the Thoothukudi South police against seven boat owners, who allegedly blocked the channel close to the harbour.

According to sources in the Fisheries Department, the ban on unregistered boats was in effect since October based on the court order, but it was relaxed for nearly a month at the behest of boat owners and fishermen requesting support for livelihood.