Chennai: By the end of this year about 3500 TN fishermen will stop venturing into Palk Strait, avoiding controversies in the Lankan waters. Funds to a tune of '280 crore is now being dispatched for conversion of 500 mechanised boats into trawler vessels, a senior government official said. The Centre has released Rs 200 crore for this project, a long pending demand of former CM Jayalalithaa, secretariat sources said.
The funding from the centre is a first step towards the much awaited Rs 1,600 crore deep sea fishing project mooted by the state to convert mechanized boats in to deep sea trawlers and tuna long-liners.
“TN fishermen have been accused of fishing in Lankan waters but now our fishermen will venture deep in to the sea looking out for big catch that can be exported. Further the incidence of arrest and impounding of boats from Rameswaram will soon be a thing of past”, admitted a senior fisheries department official.
The state will also provide compensation during the conversion of trawlers in to deep sea fishing vessels and they will be insured using the state funds, the official explained.
The state government has estimated that the project will cover about 2,000 trawlers and will be developed in to deep sea vessels over the period of next three years. A deep sea vessel can benefit up to seven fishermen and it will also enhance the revenue sources of TN fishing and export industry. As per a govt order the state has plans to convert 500 boats during 2017-18. The centre has approved replacement of 750 trawlers in the first phase releasing Rs 200 crore and the state for its part has issued '86 crore on Tuesday.
