NAGAPATTINAM: In view of Cyclone Michaung, fishers in the district, who have been warned against venturing into sea, have also been advised to safeguard their boats and engines from possible gust and adverse weather conditions. "We have advised the fisherfolk to push their boats further towards the shore to avoid being affected by the storm surge. We also advised them to detach their outboard engine and keep it safe along with the fishing nets to avoid them being blown away in gust," said a fisheries and fishermen welfare department official.
Department officials confirmed that all deep-sea mechanised fishing boats which had ventured into sea have returned to shore. They advised the owners to berth all mechanised boats, including trawlers, at harbours and asked them not to anchor them in shallow waters near the shore. It may be noted that around a thousand fishers from other districts have also been camping in the district, particularly at Kodiyakarai, over the past month to fish in the Palk Strait. They who reside in thatched shelters close to seashore have now returned to their native villages while leaving their boats at Kodiyakarai in view of the weather forecast. The deep depression in the Bay of Bengal is expected to intensify into a cyclonic storm, ‘Michaung’ and is expected to make landfall near south Andhra Pradesh by Monday.
Similarly, fishers from Ramanathapuram camping in Kodiyakarai have been asked to return to the district with their fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) vallam boats as their vessels are larger than conventional FRP motorised boat. Vallam boats cannot be berthed on sandy shores and are rather usually anchored in shallow waters a few hundred metres from the shore. Officials told the Ramanathapuram folk that it is not safe to anchor in the sea when in the event of an approaching cyclone.