A total of 1196 fishermen lost their lives in 20 years in the state, according to the figures presented in the assembly. The list includes 51 fishermen who died and 94 fishermen who went missing during the Ockhi cyclone in 2017.
Muthalapozhi in Thiruvananthapuram, which has become a death trap for fishermen, witnessed the loss of 46 lives between 2016 and 2024. These deaths occurred at the harbour mouth and in the sea, according to assembly data provided by Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian.
There is no dearth in fatalities of fishermen at Muthalapozhi, although the government has spent close to 1 crore in a year for various safety measures, infrastructure activities and studies. Between 2022-23 and 2023-24, the state government has spent Rs 95 lakhs for various projects at Muthalapozhi.
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This expenditure includes Rs 37 lakhs spent on Mathematical model studies for wave transformation, shoreline changes, hydrodynamics & sedimentation at Muthalappozhy Fishing Harbour by the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Pune.
Based on the CWPRS report, a project to the tune of Rs 164 crore has been submitted to the centre for approval. The report notes that the entrance of the inlet is silted up mainly due to net littoral drift being transported from south to north causing the operation of fishing vessels extremely difficult through the inlet during rough weather season.
Jackson Pollayil, state president of Kerala Swatantra Matsyathozhilali Federation said that unscientific construction of fishing harbours and climate change have accounted for fishermen fatality recently. ''Earlier traditional fishermen focused on mudbanks and after the catch would safely come ashore. Once harbour based fishing began, fishermen would be caught in the waves, mostly at the mouth of harbours. It is not just Muthalapozhy, accidents occur at other harbours also, like in Beypore.
Also we are caught off guard by sudden change in weather. Unlike the old times where we were confident about wave patterns and weather, unpredictable change in conditions put lives at risk during fishing. The rise in number of lives of fishermen is alarming especially at the mouth of fishing harbours because many of these deaths could be avoided if the scientists discuss projects with us before implementation,'' said Jackson Pollayil.
An amount of Rs 1.2 crore has been distributed as an insurance sum for the dependants of 13 fishermen( who died at Muthalapozhi) via a group insurance scheme since 2016. An amount of Rs 35 lakhs was distributed as an insurance sum for dependants via the Matsyafed insurance scheme.
Ten families of fishermen who died at Muthalapozhi have not received an insurance scheme. Seven of them were not included in the list of fishermen and hence were denied insurance claims. The claim was not submitted for one fisherman who had died, and two of the fishermen are included under the missing list.
