[Reader-list] State urged to allay fears of fishing community

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State urged to allay fears of fishing community

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/state-urged-to-allay-fears-of-fishing-community/article4069758.ece


Special Correspondent

A fresh problem seems to be confronting the Vizhinjam port project
with the fishing community in the area beginning to question the
project. The church too is apparently sceptical.

Inaugurating a seminar discussing the concerns of the fishing
community here on Monday, Monsignor Eugene Pereira, vicar general of
the Latin Catholic Archdiocese, said the fishermen were not against
such a development project, but they should be told whether it would
affect their livelihood.

The means of subsistence of a very large number of fishermen families
should not be taken away by any ‘dream project,’ he said. He urged the
government to first allay the fears of the fishermen.

Kerala Independent Fish Workers’ Federation president T. Peter, who
too addressed the seminar, said the shipping channel of the proposed
port could block the fishermen’s access to the seas from all the
villages along the coast from Vizhinjam to Poovar.

And just to the north of the site selected for the port was the
Vizhinjam fishing harbour. A mammoth breakwater structure was needed
for the proposed deepwater port. This breakwater structure could lead
to erosion and accretion of beach on either side.

The experience along the southern stretch of the State’s coast was
that erosion happened on the northern side of any man-made structure
jutting into the sea and accretion happened on the southern side, he
said.

Mr. Peter asked whether this aspect had been properly looked into
during the environmental impact assessment for the project. How will
the structures of the proposed port interact with the dynamics of the
sea currents? Will it affect the coast on either side, he asked.

He too said the fishermen would welcome any project for the overall
development of the State, but it should not be by taking away their
humble means of livelihood. “We need answers to many questions. We
will not allow anyone to fool us,” he said.

Former Additional Director of Fisheries Sanjeev Ghosh said fisheries
scientists in the State were saying nothing about the proposed
project. “The coastal stretch in this region represents the
continental shelf. That is why the sea is deep close to coast here.
There are several studies highlighting the ecological significance of
this region. It is the breeding ground for several commercially
important fish species. There was even a proposal to declare the
region as a ‘Marine Protected Area.’ Such a project could cause big
disturbance to the marine ecology of the region,” Dr. Ghosh said.