India’s first deep-sea fisherwoman honoured

TRIVANDRUM: India’s Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) on Friday felicitated the country’s first woman with a deep-sea fishing licence.

The statutory body’s chairman KS Srinivas hailed Rekha Karthikeyan of Thrissur district in the southern state of Kerala for excelling in what is conventionally a male domain.

At a function in MPEDA’S headquarters in the port city of Kochi ahead of International Women’s Day on Sunday, he gave Karthikeyan a memento and a pair of life jackets.

She also received a financial package of Rs 660,000.

“These days, she fishes in the deep sea, covering 50 nautical miles daily on an average,” Srinivas said. “All that, without the mariner’s compass or even a lifejacket.”

Karthikeyan, 40, the mother of four, in coastal Chettuva village south of Guruvayur, ventured into the deep sea 12 years ago with her husband without knowing how to swim.

“While the sea waters were expectedly choppy, resistance awaited me back on the shores too. For, society kept saying fishing cannot be a female’s profession,” she says.

“Women must not be indifferent towards injustice. We need to take up challenges boldly.”

Notwithstanding the initial hiccups, she and her husband, of late a heart patient, would take their boat in the small hours to fish.

She also learned swimming and later applied for a licence to fish deep in the sea.

Authorities refused to give her the document until the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMRFI) intervened to grant her the licence in early 2019.

Recently, Kerala has drawn up a set of comprehensive safety and security regulations to position itself as a prime safe and hassle-free destination for adventure-loving holidaymakers.

Kerala tourism board is also introducing a registration system for organisations and individuals engaged in promoting adventure tourism.

Tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran will formally launch both these initiatives here on Monday.