Karwar: As many as 90 fishermen have died while involved in deep sea fishing in a period of three years in Uttara Kannada district.

While some fishermen died after they lost balance on the boat and fell into the sea, others died when they slipped while sitting on the gunwale of the boat or fell into the sea in a sleepy mood in the morning. There have also been incidents where the fishermen have died as there was no one to rescue them in the sea at the site of the accident.

“The profession of fishermen is itself risky. They are always under the threat of high tidal waves during storms, cyclones, new moon day and full moon day. Braving all these challenges, the fishermen have become a part of our food system”, says fishermen leader Vinayak Harikantra.

He said that along with the fishermen of the coasts, there are a number of people from north Karnataka who are working as boat drivers and assistants. But in case of accidents, those people do not get compensation. So, there was a need to amend the norms taking this issue into consideration.

Department’s efforts

Deputy Director of Fishery Department P Nagaraj said that the department responsibly responds to the problems faced by the families of fishermen who die in accidents while engaged in fishing in the sea. Compensation was given to them from the Compensation fund through the Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives.

He added that compensation between Rs one lakh and Rs six lakh is given to the families based on the severity of the case.

Conditions

He informed that there were certain conditions based on which the compensation was given. He said that the deceased fishermen should have been a member of a primary fishing co-operative. The union government releases the compensation only if the fishermen are under-60 years of age while the State government had no such restrictions.

“As per rules, maximum compensation cannot be given to a family of the fishermen who go missing while fishing. As per law, the fishermen can be declared dead only if he does not return even after seven years of the accident. But complete compensation is given depending upon the situation of the family. We also take an undertaking saying that the compensation amount has to be returned in case the missing fisherman is found after seven years”, Nagaraj informed.

The officer also added that 1.25% of the amount given for providing a subsidy of diesel to boats is kept aside for providing compensation to the fishermen who meet with mishaps while fishing.