Coastal belt restive as plea to save fishers goes unheeded http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/coastal-belt-restive-as-plea-to-save-fishers-goes-unheeded/article7779241.ece
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: *Union alleges lack of response from government to secure their release from Diego Garcia jail* : The coastal belt is turning restive over the government’s failure to respond to pleas to secure the release of 23 fishers who had been arrested by the British Navy on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia. According to leaders of the coastal community, the 23 fishermen hailing from Poovar, Pozhiyur and Anchuthengu in Thiruvananthapuram had put out to sea on a fishing expedition from Kochi and Muttom in Tamil Nadu last week. Following inclement weather, the vessels strayed off course and reached Diego Garcia where the fishers were arrested by the British Navy who mistook them for terrorists. The Thiruvananthapuram Matsyathozhilali Forum under the Latin Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram and the Kerala Swathantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation have appealed to the government for immediate steps to ensure the safe return of the fishers. Minister for Fisheries K. Babu, however, pleaded ignorance about the issue. When contacted on Sunday morning, he said the incident had not been brought to his notice. Leaders of coastal communities feel let down by the lack of response from the government. According to them, fishermen in Kerala and Tamil Nadu were increasingly exposed to such risks as the decline of fish stocks in the Indian waters forces them to venture out to deep sea. “The Union government’s decision to permit the operation of foreign trawlers is primarily responsible for the situation,” said Anto Elias, KSMTF. The National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF) has urged the government to convene a regional conference of Indian Ocean rim countries. Typically remaining at sea for more than week, deep sea fishermen use the hook and line method, a non- destructive method, to land sharks and tuna. The deep-sea fishing fleet based in Thoothoor in Tamil Nadu operates in a vast region in the western Indian Ocean extending up to the Pakistan border in the north. Given their long voyages in relatively small craft, the fleet faces problems in safety, communication, navigation and fuel consumption. *Vanishing beaches along Kerala coast* *http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/vanishing-beaches-along-kerala-coast/article7779243.ece <http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/vanishing-beaches-along-kerala-coast/article7779243.ece>* SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: The unscientific construction of coastal protection structures like seawalls and breakwaters is another factor forcing fishers to venture into deep sea. Fishers say the disappearance of beaches due to changes in sediment transport had influenced the shift to deep sea fishing. The construction of the Muthalapozhy breakwater is cited as an example. As a result of the accelerated erosion caused by the structure, fishermen at Poonthura, Anchuthengu and Thazhampally were forced to give up shore seine fishing. “With their livelihood threatened, some of them turned to deep sea fishing while others opted for destructive means of fishing like ringseine, leading to recurrent clashes with fishermen relying on traditional methods,” said T. Peter, secretary, NFF. The shoreline change assessment for the Kerala coast prepared by the Ministry of Environment and Forests estimates that more than 63 per cent of the 590-km-long coast is eroding. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Coastal belt restive as plea to save fishers goes unheeded.doc
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