The Ramanathapuram district administration along with fisheries department has started promoting alternate employment avenues for fishermen along the coast reeling under the territorial issues with Sri Lanka. Sources say the families have been given assistance to rear ornamental fishes and sea-weed culture along the coast. However, fishermen claim the benefits of such schemes are yet to reach the grassroots. The fisheries department has selected ten beneficiaries in the district to set up marine and good water aquariums with state government funding. Each unit has been given 3 lakh of which 90% (2.70 lakh) will be sibsidy. Among them four have established marine ornamental fish aquariums and six have set up good water ornamental fish aquariums. Ramanathapuram collector S Natarajan recently inspected the aquariums established by these fishermen. He visited the marine ornamental aquarium set up by Gladwin from Mandapam who earns 50,000 per month from it, and enquired about ornamental fish culturing in sea water. Similarly, sea-weed culture is being promoted among fisherwomen of the coast. About 500 of them are cultivating sea weeds like gracilaria and gelidium varieties. Officials said the fisheries department had been promoting seaweed cultivation in the region under National Fisheries Development Scheme. The women had been formed into self-help groups and 41 of them given monetary assistance of 1.12 lakh each. Recently, 50 women self-help groups were identified and given 22.5 lakh monetary assistance using World Bank funds to raise seaweeds using bamboo floats. As of now, 30 self-help groups had been provided 30 bamboo floats each to culture sea weeds. Altogether 1,500 bamboo floats had been provided to the groups to promote seaweed cultivation in recent times. Fishermen sources said that seaweed culture was relatively successful among women and provided them employment. However, the government schemes to promote alternate livelihood among fishermen were yet to gather momentum, say fishermen.
2016 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.