Oil spill effect: Fishing remains hit in Kasimedu

Chennai: Even after claiming to take numerous measures to normalize fishing activity following the oil spill at the Ennore Port last year, the fishermen community rues against the negligence shown by the authorities to address their issues.

The fish market has gone silent after the numbers of fishes coming to the shore have declined at Kasimedu.

The year had been harsh for the fishermen community for many reasons; firstly they struck work from April to June for compensation settlement, and then GST also led to a fall in the fish market. Northeast monsoon also kept them away from the sea for a long time due to harsh weather conditions affecting business severely.

“There were about 1,500 fishing boats that used to go for catching fishes daily, but now not even 100 boats are sent. The business is dry as all we get is crude oil from the sea and fish market has been affected since the oil spill accident," said M. Vijesh, general secretary, Boat Owners Association. Cyclone Ockhi and North East monsoon was expected to bring back the fishes to the shore but fishermen say that the situation has not changed even after the freshwater inflow.

“The cyclone was supposed to gush in fresh water and clear the contaminated water off the shore. Cyclone and monsoon failed to bring fishes to the shore as the water is still contaminated. We have no other means of livelihood, but with no significant fishing activity, we are looking for other jobs. It has been almost a year since the two tankers collapsed, but the compensation amount remains unsettled,” said Kiruba Parthiban, a fisherman. Though authorities claim to have carried out clean-up activities and action plans to restore the fishing activities, the woes of fishermen have not yet ended.