Lok Sabha Question No. 368 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-18
Subject: Safety of Fishermen
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: K. C. VENUGOPAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY DAIRYING AND FISHERIES

LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.368 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18 TH  JULY, 2017

## SAFETY OF FISHERMEN

## 368. SHRI K.C. VENUGOPAL:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ षि और क ृ िक कल्याण मंत्री be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken any exclusive measures to ensure the safety and security for the fishermen who are going for deep sea fishing, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has taken into account collision between fishing boats and merchant ships in deep sea particularly in Arabian Sea;
- (c) if so, the precautionary measures taken or instruction given by the Government to avoid such fatalities in the future;
- (d) whether the Government has taken any measures to implement proper guidelines for fishermen to avoid shipping channels, if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether there is any mechanism with the Government to monitor the movements of ships only through the recognized shipping channels, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE (SH. SUDARSHANBHAGAT)

- a).   Yes Madam. The Government has taken various measures to ensure safety and security of fishermen who are going for deep sea fishing. Some of the broad measures taken include (i) Registration of all fishing vessels  under  the  Merchant  Shipping  Act,  1958  as  amended,  (ii)  Provisions/guidelines  for    manning, training, certification, safety of the ship and insurance of fishermen etc, (iii) Issuance of biometric ID cards to  fishers,  (iv)  Operational  area  demarcation  under  the  fishing  permission  granted  and  (v)  periodical inspection of the deep sea fishing vessels in order to verify safety equipments and appliances in conformity with rules.

(b)&(c).The Government has taken note of such incidents of collision between fishing boats and merchant ships in deep sea, particularly in the Arabian Sea. In  such cases, investigations are carried out to determine the  causes  and  contributory  factors  that  led  to  the  incident,  and  the  lessons  learnt  are  shared  through issuance  of  casualty  circular  by  the  Directorate  General  of  Shipping.    The  Respective  Registrars/  State Governments  are  also  advised  from  time  to  time  to  take  all  preventive  measures.  Besides,  community awareness programmes are regularly being conducted by the Indian Coast Guard to educate the fishermen on safety issues.

- (d). Respective Registrars from States Maritime Boards/ UTs have been advised to educate the fishermen on the issue.
- (e).  The  Government  of  India,  Ministry  of  Shipping  has  taken  steps  to  monitor  the  movement  of  ships along  the  coast  line.  The  Government  of  India  has  formed  an  Inter  Ministerial  Group  (IMG)  for  the establishment of National Coastal Vessel Traffic System (NCVTS) to enable monitoring of movement of the  merchant  vessels  seamlessly  along  the  coast  of  India.  Further,  the  Government  has  also  planned  to establish traffic lanes for movement of such vessels.

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