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The Centre has recently released ₹200 crore to help Tamil Nadu’s fishermen acquire deep-sea fishing vessels. The funds will be used to give a 50 per cent subsidy to traditional fishermen buying deep-sea fishing vessels, estimated to cost₹80 lakh apiece.
“At the end of last month, we received a directive from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to release a total of ₹300 crore to the State government. Accordingly, an amount of ₹200 crore is already released and the rest will be given after assessing the progress achieved,” Fisheries Development Commissioner P Paul Pandian told BusinessLine on Monday.
The burden was shared equally by the Finance Ministry and Agriculture Ministry.
The subsidy will be available to fishermen who replace their traditional bottom trawlers with tuna long tiners, according to an official document.
This would be in addition to 10 to a 20 per cent subsidy earmarked by the State government. While an individual fisherman will get a subsidy for buying one boat, fishermen societies can get it for up to two boats, Pandian said.
Union agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said the Centre wants to encourage Indian fishermen to go for deep-sea fishing as the stocks in the shallow waters are dwindling. “The newly announced 50 per cent subsidy for acquiring boats suitable for fishing beyond 12 nautical miles is part of a larger plan to promote deep-sea fishing,” he said.
In March, the government launched a project to help traditional fishermen develop skills for deep-sea fishing. As part of the scheme, the government plans to introduce smaller deep-sea fishing vessels for operation in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone beyond Indian territorial waters.
Last Friday, the Agriculture Ministry asked States and Union Territories to submit proposals for central assistance if they wanted to train fishermen in deep-sea fishing. “But even if they develop the skills, where would they go to fish? There is no deep sea around,” said Vincent Jain, a representative of the fishing community in Kanyakumari.
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