The decision was driven by the fact that with fishing becoming a non-viable activity near the coastline because of pollution and ship traffic, even smaller boats are being forced to go into the high seas.
One of the key elements to check another strike — equipping about 2 lakh fishing boats with Automatic Information System- Proprietary (AIS-P) transponders — is yet to be done. The proposal was cleared at a meeting of coastal states with the Union Home Ministry in June, 2016.
The decision was driven by the fact that with fishing becoming a non-viable activity near the coastline because of pollution and ship traffic, even smaller boats are being forced to go into the high seas.
“The fishermen are like eyes and ears on the sea for country’s security. But we are yet to receive transponders for small boats. It is must for us as our small boats are forced to go beyond the mandatory 12 nautical miles into the high seas to catch fish across the Maharashtra coastline. We must get it for free,” says Narendra R Patil, General Secretary, Maharashtra Machhimar Kruti Samitee (MMKS).
Each transponder costs about Rs 17,000 and the cost of about Rs 336 crore for installing two lakh transponders in small boats will be borne by the Union Home Ministry.
Until recently, only dhows or vessels bigger than 20 metres in length were fitted with transponders, leaving out a vast majority of sea boats that according to an Intelligence Bureau report can be used by terrorists again.
There are more than a lakh fishermen in just Palghar district of Maharashtra. Two lakh transponders may fall short even for Maharashtra, it says.
An AIS-P transponder is fitted on a boat that responds automatically by emitting a friendly signal when intercepted by coastal security and sends out a distress signal when under threat. The signal reaches the nearest Coast Guard/ Navy ship or marine speedboat within 5 seconds. It can track up to 50 km from the coast.
But most of the small boats across Maharashtra coastline are yet to be fitted with transponders.
Fishermen argue that the system of allowing licensed boats in the sea is also full of loopholes.
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