Kollam: The fishermen community is at the receiving end due to the imprecise weather forecasts issued by the agencies. The recent warnings on Fani cyclone, which has evaded Kerala coast, have kept them at bay. The frequent warnings this year have left them jobless for nearly a month.
The trend of predicting rough sea, that rarely happens, started after the Ockhi cyclone hit the coastal area in November 2017.
“These forecasts have not benefited the fishermen, but only trouble them. The government should compensate the fishermen who abide by these warnings. The officials in these departments mislead the fishermen,” T. Peter, general secretary, National Fish Workers’ Forum, told DC.
The fishermen say that the authorities should make use of the acumen of traditional fishermen on the weather conditions in the sea.
The free ration announced by the government on the days when fishermen do not go out to the sea is also insufficient. They cannot meet their daily needs, including educational expenses of their children.
The scarcity of fish in the coastal sea of Kerala also adversely affects the fishermen forcing them to spend huge money on fuel to travel long distances in the sea. However, the enforcement agencies, including coastal police, Coast Guard, and marine enforcement seize the fishing vessels at sea and send them back once such warnings are issued, wasting the entire money spent on fuel.
The fishermen have demanded a zone-wise classification of weather warnings with precise calculation of weather parameters. This would help the fishermen out of a specific zone to go out to make a living.
This year, there were over 25 jobless days for fishermen due to the wrong weather warnings. Further, they will have another 45 days of jobless days this year as the trawling ban is approaching post-monsoon.
