Gujarat Fishermen alerted over movement of suspected vessels

Ahmedabad

The Gujarat Fisheries Department has issued an alert to all the fishermen in Porbandar to immediately contact Coast Guard, Navy or any other security agencies if they spot ‘suspected and unidentified’ ‘pair vessels’ in the sea off Gujarat coast.

The alert has been sent through fax today to various associations of fishermen in Porbandar, including to us, National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF) secretary Manish Lodhari said.

The alert says that ‘suspected and unidentified’ ‘pair vessels’ are roaming in the Arabian Sea between Mumbai and Kandla port in Gujarat.

This alert is based on a recent communication sent by Indian Coast Guard’s Gandhinagar office to the Fisheries Commissioner in Gandhinagar, the official said.

“Pair Vessels are basically two vessels, one large and one small, joined together for fishing. Upon receiving the alert, we have started our exercise to inform all the fishermen about it and asked them to respond immediately if they find anything as mentioned in the message” said Lodhari.

As per the communique sent by the department, there is an urgent need to strengthen the security along Gujarat coast, as it is suspected that ‘these vessels may infiltrate through this coast and may involve in some untoward act’.

“Thus, all the fishermen are advised to inform the Coast Guard, Navy or any other security agency if they find any suspicious activity in the high sea while fishing” stated the alert, requesting all the associations, fishermen community and boat owners to stay alert and spread the message.

PTI