Ockhi Cyclone Dec-2017 Report English

4. FINDINGS
Cyclone Ockhi’s Devastation to the Fishing Community in Kanyakumari
Plight of fishing community
The fisher folk from the coastal villages of Kanyakumari district are known for their
skills in deep-sea fishing. Ever since the early 1990s, after the Government of India
had allowed foreign fishing vessels to fish beyond their territorial waters, the
catchment of the Indian fisher folk has significantly reduced forcing these fishermen
to venture, sometimes, as far as a 1000NM in search of fish. As a result, the length
of their boats had to be increased to sustain such long journeys and to withstand the
brutality of the sea during rough weather conditions. However, these fisher folks
continue to remain invisible when it comes to government schemes and policies.
This allegation is substantiated by the fact that most of their boats are not registered
due to the restrictions placed under the Tamil Nadu Marine Regulation Act, 1983,
(Annexure 24- Tamil Nadu Marine Regulation Act, 1983) which only allow
registration for boats with length up to 15 metres. As a result of non-registration, the
fishermen are not able to register for insurance of their boats, which costs them up to
2 crore rupees (20 million) to construct, and hence remain extremely vulnerable.
Though, through fishing a lot of foreign exchange is generated for the government,
the fisher folk receive no recognition for it and this becomes more apparent and
pronounced during a natural disaster such as Cyclone Ockhi.
The lives of fishermen remain undervalued by the government despite the dangers
and perils involved in their occupation. The tragic story of Ramya from Chinnathurai
(Annexure 25- Statement of Ms. Ramya w/o Anro Jan, Chinnathurai village)
village, gives an insight into the plight of the fishing community and the position of
their families when it loses its breadwinners. Ramya’s father and brother-in-law died
at sea in October 2017. A marine accident, where her family’s boat collided with a
cargo ship, caused their deaths. Ramya tells the inquest team that even after months
after the incident, there has been no investigation into the matter and the family has
not been contacted by the government or given relief and compensation.
Unfortunately, the family’s struggle was far from over as Cyclone Ockhi claimed her
husband, Andro, and brother, Rakesh’s lives. They went out fishing on November
30, 2017 and did not return. It is testimonials like Ramya’s that makes it strikingly
evident that there lacks any form of protection to the lives of the fishermen in our
country. This only brings to the foreground the lack of investigation and impunity
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