Fishermen from across South Coastal Andhra Pradesh have decided to step up their agitation demanding that the State government ensure implementation of the Andhra Pradesh Marine Fishing (Regulation) Act in letter and spirit with a view to protecting the fishing rights of traditional fishermen along the vast coastline allegedly encroached upon by their counterparts from Tamil Nadu.
Fishermen from over 250 coastal villages in the region, including more than 160 villages in Nellore district and over 70 villages in Prakasam district, suffered a huge loss followed alleged incursions by their counterparts in the neighbouring State within eight nautical miles from the shore reserved for traditional fishermen, complained a group of fishermen who met here under the banner of ‘Samudra Theera Matsya Karima Union’ to chalk out an agitation programme.
Using sophisticated boats fitted with high-speed engines, fishermen from Cuddalore, Nagapatinam and Thuthookudi in Tamil Nadu and from Puducherry are not only taking away their catch but are also damaging their fishing nets forcing them to incur huge losses, according to union president M. Zakaria.
Their repeated pleas to the State government to hold high-level talks with Tamil Nadu have gone in vain, complained a community leader A.V. Ramana from the coastal village of Chakicherla, near Ulavapadu in Prakasam district, on Tuesday.
Hence, they have decided to hold protest meetings at the mandal and district levels to exert pressure on the government to come to their rescue, they said after calling on Fisheries Joint Director Chandrasekhara Reddy here.
The fishermen wanted the marine police to stop fishermen from the neighouring State in the high seas and protect their livelihood. Each time their fishing nets are damaged, they lose their livelihood for 10 to 15 days and incur additional costs on purchasing new fishing nets, they rued. Fearing steep losses, some of them have stopped going into the sea for fishing, they said. They also decided to pool funds from the affected villages for the purchase of boats with high-speed engines for patrolling in the high seas.
