The Indian Coast Guard organized an interactive session with fishermen’s communities in Ullal," />
Mangalore, June 26, 2012: The Indian Coast Guard organized an interactive session with fishermen’s communities in Ullal, Mangalore today to enhance coastal security awareness among them.
The Coast Guard has been conducting a number of such sessions for fishermen.
K. L. Arun, commandant of Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Kasturba Gandhi, said that fishermen should go for fishing in groups of boats to make sure that help is close by when one of the boats meets with an accident. He also urged fishermen to report to the Coast Guard if they spot any suspicious boats or activities in their area.
The Coastal Security Police have instructed fishermen to take their original boat registration certificate and identity cards whenever they go fishing.
Speaking on the occasion, fishermen complained that some Coast Guard officers were needlessly harassing them by conducting inspections of their boats. In response, Mr. Arun asked the fishermen to note down the boat number and inform the Coast Guard about it.
Coast Guard personnel also gave useful security tips to the fishermen and conducted a demonstration on how to use life jackets, lifebuoy and Distant Alert Transmitter (DATs) in fishing boats. They told fishermen that they can use DATs to convey SOS messages instantly to the Coast Guard.