691 fishermen rescued from the high sea

KOCHI: Had it not been for the timely action of the Marine Enforcement wing, the coastal hamlets in Munambam and Vypeen could have been struck with grief over the loss of 691 lives.In the last 17 days, the Marine Enforcement has rescued 691 fishermen from high seas after 19 country boats either capsized or developed technical snags.Marine Enforcement Inspector K M Sajeev, who led the rescue operations, said the fishermen were rescued by a dedicated team of enforcement officials camping at Munambam and Vypeen."We are alert round the clock ever since the trawling ban came into force on June 14. The rescue teams have been equipped with five high powered engine vessels to carry out rescue operations on short notice," he said.The country boats are strictly directed to restrict their fishing up to 21 nautical miles off the shore.While the Munambam control room is equipped with three vessels, the Vypeen control room has two vessels. "The country boats are equipped with state of the art wireless communication facility. In case of any distress, they immediately alert our control room. We also conduct round the clock patrolling in high seas to ensure that no trawlers defy the ban. We have seized a few trawlers that were seen operating in the high seas," Sajeev said.He added that they have appointed informers to pass on messages about the movement of trawlers violating the trawling ban."A trawler needs to get permission from the Fisheries Department to even shift from one base station to another," the official said, and added that they would further strengthen their patrolling to check the illegal operations of trawlers.