Bengal government frames norms for trawlers

KOLKATA: The deaths of 40 fishermen in three incidents of trawler capsize in the Bay of Bengal in a little over two months have prompted the West Bengal government to formulate guidelines for fishermen, trawler owners and operators.

Fisheries minister Chandranath Sinha said the guidelines will include identification of certain “safe shipping routes” that will have to be mandatorily followed by trawlers and non-mechanised boats.

The administration will also be strict about the use of life-jackets for all abroad the vessels that go out to fish in the coastal waters of Bengal. “The trawler owners and trawler in- charge will be held accountable on this count,” the minister said. According to the records of the state fisheries department, around 10,000 trawlers and boats set out for deep-sea fishing from the three harbours of Namkhana, Fraserganj and Kakdwip. Of these around 5,500 are trawlers and the rest are nonmechanised boats.

A fisheries department official, said they have identified certain routes where most of the trawlers have capsized. “These routes are mainly adjacent to islands such as Kendo and Jambu. They will be marked as unsafe and buoys will be anchored there to warn the vessels,” said the official. According to the president of West Bengal United Fishermen Welfare Association, Bijan Maity, every year mishaps take place during this time of the year when thousands of fishermen go out to the sea to catch Hilsa, a fish prized as a delicacy by most of the Bengalis. SUMANTA RAY CHAUDHURI