The fishing community has been opposing the implementation of the token system in the Kasimedu fishing harbour, whereby the entry and exit of boats will be monitored.
Boat owners have been asked to provide details, including the names of labourers, date of departure/return and location of fishing. “Will they guarantee the safety of our men, boats and nets if we provide these details? The safety equipment they have provided us will not work in half the boats. We travel for as long as a week to reach fishing grounds. In such cases, how can we return quickly to the shore if there is a cyclone?” asked an office-bearer of a boat owners’ association.
Kumaresan, a boat owner, said the token system would not suit Chennai, since the labourers were not fixed or attached to the boats. “Sometimes even bystanders are taken on fishing trips on short notice. We get people from Andhra Pradesh or Thoothukudi,” he said.
Another boat owner said that places like Nagapattinam and Karaikal had a token system for boats, but craft with high-speed engines from those areas were fishing near Chennai and spoiling the livelihood of local fishermen. “Can the government ensure that those fishermen don’t come here?” he asked.
The Fisheries Department, which introduced the system, is now insisting that deep sea fishermen and trawlers register themselves before leaving for trips. “This is for their own safety, especially during monsoon,” said an official.
