THOOTHUKUDI: The Maldivian government has imposed a penalty of Rs 2.27 crore on the Tharuvaikulam fishermen, who allegedly trespassed into the country's maritime zone. The fishermen were earlier arrested by the Maldivian authorities, and subsequently released. Notice for the alleged violation of the Fisheries Act of Maldives was served to the owner and master of the fishing vessel. The owner has been given 30 days' time to remit the penalty and retrieve the vessel. The owner could also file an appeal against the penalty notice at the Maldivian court concerned within five days.
Speaking to TNIE, the Tharuvaikulam fishermen said the union and state governments should intervene in the issue immediately and take steps to retrieve their vessel as they could never afford to pay such a hefty penalty. "We have only five days to file an appeal. So, the governments should take urgent steps to help us. We are also planning to commence an agitation in a day or two," they added.
Sources said the vessel departed from Thoothukudi's Tharuvaikulam fishing harbour on October 1 with 12 crew members on board. While fishing in the Indian Ocean, the vessel allegedly drifted into the Maldivian maritime zone on October 19 due to a strong sea current. When they realised it was Maldivian waters on October 22, the master of the vessel, Adi Naryanan, and the other fishers started retracting the gillnets. However, the gillnet mesh got stuck in the propeller, and coastguards attached to the Maldives National Defence Force apprehended them around 62 nautical miles east of HA. Innafinolhu said sources
An official note from the Maldivian government said there was no evidence of unruly weather at sea on October 19, to corroborate the fishermen's claim that the vessel drifted into the country's territory only due to strong wind. "Besides, they have caught around 30 to 40 small sharks, using the gillnet. Both fishing sharks and using gillnets are prohibited in Maldivian waters. There was no Fisheries Catch Logbook onboard the vessel. It took the fishermen five hours to untangle the gillnet from the propeller, and then over 10 hours to manually retrieve the nets back from the waters," the note added.