NAGAPATTINAM: About 28 per cent of the over 11,000 motorised and non-motorised fishing boats inspected in the delta region are unregistered, the fisheries department has found. A total of 11,634 boats in 111 fishing hamlets of the districts of Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Pudukkottai and Thanjavur were inspected in the annual exercise that was last undertaken in 2019.
Of them, the fisheries department found 3,272 unregistered. A fisheries department official said, "There will be no penalties imposed on the violators. However, only those who have registered would be allowed to avail of benefits such as fuel subsidies, insurance and relief in the event of disasters. We advised them to register to avoid missing out on the benefits.”
On so many of the vessels unregistered, an official said, "Many of those who did not register cite that they bought 'pre-used' vessels. If they are procuring such vessels, they should do so along with the old registration certificate." In the four districts, around half of the non-motorised boats (country boats) were registered. Among the motorised boats, around 75 per cent were registered.
The officials said that many non-motorised vessels are unregistered as they do not value their vessels like motorised vessel owners. Officials said fishers in the delta region and the coastal delta districts must register their vessels as they often enter into conflicts with the Sri Lankan armed forces and the island nation’s fishermen. The registration would help them avail of the benefits for vessels that get damaged, lost or seized during such conflicts, they added.