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Journalism of Courage
Three weeks after the Indian Ocean tsunami, fishermen in the coastal villages of Kanyakumari district have started picking up the threads. They have started venturing out to sea, drawing on concepts such as community fishing .
The Kadiapattinam fishermen launched on Monday a community fishing project with the help of an NGO. This system, known here as karamadi, is a form of fishing in which the catamarans and nets are owned jointly by the community. The community divides the profits equally among themselves and reserves a portion for maintenance of nets and crafts, said Babu Mathew of ActionAid India, the NGO which organised the karamadi in Kadiapattinam on Monday.
Monday’s karamadi, which saw the participation of more than 100 fishermen, was followed by a community feast which was organised in order to dispel fears of fish poisoning.
The coastal village of Kadiapattinam came back to life once again as the fishermen set out to sea together. District Collector Sunil Paliwal, who was present when the karamadi was launched, was seen lending a hand to the fishermen as they launched their catamarans into the sea. At Colachel too, the Collector sailed with the fishermen in their boats.
‘‘This initiative by the fishermen of Kadiapattinam village will go a long way in changing the face of the fishing industry in the region and that of the community, as it will save them from exploitation by mechanised trawler owners,’’ said Babu Mathew.
Kadiapattinam has a population of around 9,000 and has lost 32 people to the tidal waves.
