Govt warns fishermen against venturing into sea without ID tag

The Tamil Nadu government on Monday warned fishermen against venturing into sea without obtaining tokens from the Fisheries Department which enable coastal security personnel to verify their identities.

Under a recent government order, fishermen are required to obtain tokens issued by the department before venturing into sea. The token is an identification tag and security personnel on patrol can easily identify the fishermen by verifying it, officials said.

Similarly, tokens also help Sri Lankan Navy personnel to differentiate between fishermen and smugglers in the Palk Straits.

It had come to the notice of authorities that unmindful of the rough sea conditions, five mechanised boats had ventured into the sea on Saturday without getting permission from the department and returned yesterday, they said.

According to officials, more than 20 boats had gone for fishing without obtaining tokens on the day after the annual 45-day ban on fishing ended recently.

An offical from the departement said a search operation was on to trace the fishermen who had failed to obtain tokens.

If this practice was allowed to continue, the entire system of coastal vigilance would collapse and hence the government had decided to take stringent action against those flouting the rule, he added.