Sea erosion swallows fishnet mending hall; washed away structure damages fibreglass country boats

The coastal hamlet of Tharuvaikulam, which has been facing serious sea erosion over the past few years, has lost a fishnet mending hall to the menacingly advancing sea.

Even though Tharuvaikulam’s fish landing centre houses more than 300 mechanised boats, all involved in multi-day deep sea stay fishing, and more than 200 fibreglass country boats, no step has been taken by the Tamil Nadu Government so far to address sea erosion by constructing groyne. Tharuvaikulam fishermen’s repeated plea for construction of groyne in their village to save their boats from heavy tides still remains unheard, the fishermen complain.

“Even though we are generating a whopping ₹100 crore annually by supplying seafood, the Tamil Nadu Government, which is constructing gryones in various coastal hamlets across the State, is in no mood to listen to our genuine demand for constructing the groyne to save our boats and the government’s assets on the shore,” complain the Tharuvaikulam fishermen.

After sea erosion became more intense, the assets created on Tharuvaikulam seashore are either facing extinction in near future or already have been washed away by menacingly advancing tides. Of the three fishnet mending halls in this coastal hamlet, the one used by the country boat fishermen on the northern side of Tharuvaikulam beach was washed away six months ago. Now, the washed away structure is standing inside the sea – about 50 feet from the shoreline.

“The facility was created at a decent distance from the shoreline as the officials selected the right spot for fishnet mending hall. However, the intensified sea erosion altered the shoreline and ultimately gobbled the fishnet mending hall six months ago. Now, the washed-away fishnet mending hall is standing inside the water to pose dangerous threat to our fibreglass boats being anchored near the shore. A few fishermen have lost their few fibreglass boats which were smashed against this fishnet mending hall standing inside the sea where we used to anchor our boats,” says fisherman S. Jesurajan of Tharuvaikulam.

After the fishnet mending hall was washed away, the country boat fisherman have to share the existing two similar facilities on the southern side of Tharuvaikulam beach being used by the mechanised boat fishermen for mending fishnets.

The fisherman say that the Department of Fisheries should take immediate steps for removing the washed away fishnet mending hall from the sea to save the fibreglass country boats and then construct a new hall at a safe distance.

“Above all, the government should start immediately the construction of groyne in our village, which alone will provide permanent solution,” says another fisherman M. Antony Francis.

Minister for Fisheries Anita R. Radhakrishnan told The Hindu that his department officials, with the assistance of the experts, had completed the survey for constructing groyne and also the full-fledged fishing harbour at Tharuvaikulam as assured by him in the Assembly in 2022. “Once funds are released by the government, the work will start,” he said.