“People have started going to the sea again. But the worries and fear still remain,” said Sindhu Nepolean, a postgraduate student at Hyderabad University, from the coastal village of Pulluvila, Thiruvananthapuram, when asked about the aftermath of Cyclone Ockhi.
The killer storm exposed all the vulnerabilities of the fisheries sector in Kerala. The coastal communities of the southern districts, especially Thiruvananthapuram, suffered heavy losses.
The compensation of Rs 10 lakh announced by the state government would not bring back the lives of their dear ones. A supply of free rations for a short period would not solve the issues faced by the community. There are issues of concern for the government and the fishermen, especially about the security precautions.
When Ockhi hit the Kerala coast, there was no exact count available about the number of fishermen in the sea in the hands of the state government. This has affected the effectiveness of the rescue work.
Around 10 years ago, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) had developed a software to track fishermen. The software could be used to store the registration details of a fishing boat, track the fishing route and help find illegal fishing attempts. The state government approved the implementation of the software in 2007. Lot of activities like registration and fuel distribution came to be done via software and its database had details of 37,819 boats.
“[But] In Kerala, a lot of small boats, especially fibre boats, are operating based from the beaches. There is no way to track them,” says Josy Pallipuram, fisherman and social worker from Munambam, Kochi.
“Also, they wont carry much communication devices as a big trawling boat would carry. And these are very prone to dangers. Majority of those who died or are missing are those who went in these fibre boats,” he added.
Even after implementing the NIC software, the government did not make it mandatory to have emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) in the boats. Also, data collection using mobile SMS in control rooms was ignored. If these systems were more efficient, a lot of lives would have been saved.
For better tracking, there should be a token system, says Alphonse Joseph, managing director of Capithan seafood exports. “For the successful implementation of that, the fishermen should get a diesel subsidy. So, only those who take the token would get the subsidy from the government,” he adds.
The fishing style has changed considerably in the state. Trawling boats, which can be called mini-ships of 80-90m length and carrying more than 5,000l of water and a tonne of ice, going to the deep sea are the major players. They come back after 15-20 days.
Fibre boats that can carry maximum of five people are for the small-scale fishermen. It is a fuel-intensive business. And, so, apparently the value of the fish catch and the profit obtained also has come down. So, the fishermen don't want to waste money on insurance. There aren't any mandates of having any personal insurance even though this is a very risky job.
Similarly, there aren't many who insure their boats. The reason is simple: paying a premium, which is higher than the annual profit they could make, is simply very bad finance planning (at least for the poor fishermen).
“Even though it seems a lot of seafood exporters are there, we can't really call our state a seafood exporter,” says Pallipuram. “We are mere frozen-state sea product exporters. We don't export value-added food products. And, only if that happens, the poor fishermen get the real value of the risk they are taking.”
Fishermen are not just avoiding the financial security, but the physical security, too. Those who carry life jackets in the boats are very rare. There is no strict action from the government's side too to make it mandatory to wear life jackets.
In 2009, as part of the Tsunami package, the government distributed safety packets worth Rs20,000 to 30,000 fishermen each. The kit included beacon lights, which could alert if there is a danger. For almost two years, these beacons served their purpose and saved many. But, there was no follow-up for this project. The fishermen were not given instructions regarding the repairing and where they could get it done.
Now, after Ockhi, the government has taken a decision to make it mandatory for all the fishermen to register with the fisheries department. The government has also taken a decision to ensure the boats have enough communication facilities like mobile connectivity and satellite phones. GPS tracking will be done for all the boats.
Also, the coastal protection force would be strengthened and 200 fishermen will be included in that. The government is also planning to have restructuring of the disaster management authority by including more experts of science and disaster management sectors. But, all these measures need the cooperation from the fishermen too.
The Ockhi shock has brought the fisheries sector in the state to a standstill for the past two weeks.
December would normally see fish prices coming down owing to the Christmas Lent and Sabarimala season. But, this December is not a normal one for the fishermen. The result is there is unavailability of fish supply to meet the demand, which has driven the prices high.
The price of sardines, the most popular fish in the state, has almost doubled in the past few days. The fish supply from Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh is trying to fill the gap. “Those are brought here putting in ice, after many days of catch. So they are considered of low value,” explains Pallipuram. Even then, the rate is high. Sales of processed dry fish are high these days.
It is a question if the Kerala community has really joined the sorrow of their fellow coastal beings with its full heart. Kerala need to ask itself if the state had truly appreciated the risky service delivered by its fishermen, even when it's is a known as a largely fish-consuming state.
“There is big negligence about the importance of the fishermen community and the problems faced by them in the Kerala community,” says Pallipuram. “At least now, when they don't have fresh fish to eat, everyone should understand that we also exist.”
It is easy to go back to the old normal, at least for those who haven't suffered anything in a calamity. But, a new normal, learning lessons from what we face now is where we should arrive at, together.
