Traditional fishing crafts to get safety equipment

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a bid to ensure the safety of fishermen using

traditional fishing boats

,

fisheries department

will implement a project worth Rs 12.91 crore, which will offer 75% government subsidy to 1,500 such vessels for procuring most-advanced distress alert transmitter (

DAT

), GPS and Marine

VHF

Radio.

Though most traditional crafts along state’s coast – which are into deep sea

fishing

and numbering between 20,000 and 25,000 – now have GPS, only a few boats are equipped with DAT or VHF radio. “This will also be an opportunity for traditional boats to replace their old GPS with an advanced one,” said a department official.

The government has already given administrative sanction for the project titled ‘sea safety equipment to traditional crafts’. State’s share of the project will be Rs 9.91 crore, beneficiary share will be Rs 3 crore. Tendering procedures are going on, said the official. DATs will cost around Rs 4 crore, while Rs 5 crore will be spent on purchasing VHF marine radios.

As per the department’s proposal, the project will aid fishermen in distress while fishing at sea and arrange quick sea rescue operations, manage fish resources effectively, ensure maximum fuel efficiency and monitor fishing vessels.

However, fishermen are wary about such projects, which are being implemented following disasters like cyclone Ockhi, which battered southern Kerala’s coast. “There is a possibility that big fishing trawlers may snatch away such government subsidies meant for traditional boats. Government should ensure a proper beneficiary selection,” said general secretary of National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF) T Peter.

Peter said that a major chunk of the

traditional fishing

boats in state operate from Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam. “DAT is a very rare feature among them, while almost all have GPS. VHF radio, another uncommon feature in traditional boats, could be very useful,” he said.

Besides, the problem with such government projects was the lack of sustainability, he added. “After procuring such modern equipment, government doesn’t look into proper maintenance. We had a similar experience with the walkie-talkies provided by the government. It set up the required tower in Ponmudi, which soon became non-functional due to poor maintenance,” he said.

So, to make this a sustainable scheme, government should give due importance to maintenance of these modern equipment and provide adequate training to fishermen in using them, he added.