Boat owners seek govt. intervention in licence renewal issue

They allege bias in implementing norms by Fisheries department

The Fisheries department, which notified life span for fishing vessels of various makes about six months ago, has come under criticism from boat owners for the department move on renewing licences for 12-year-old wooden vessels, 15-year-old steel boats and 18 year-old fibre boats.

While the All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators’ Association, representing the non-traditional sector, in a submission before the State government alleged the norms were being stringently implemented in Ernakulam alone, Fisheries department sources said the norms were applicable to fishing vessels across Kerala. They said the norms were brought out to ensure the safety of fishers, who always faced constant threat to their lives because of weather and sea conditions.

Joseph Xavier Kalapurackal of the Boat Operators’Association alleged that the norms were being implemented only in Ernakulam and that the new norms had made marine fishing ventures almost impossible, plunging thousands of boat owners, most of them comprising ordinary fishers, into a struggle to earn a livelihood.