1. In December 2014, British Navy Spotted 15 Indian
Boats & Managed To Detain Nine For Illegal Fishing
Diego Garcia: Fishermen rise to the bait
Shenoy.Karun@timesgroup.com
Kochi: Recently,aboatoperatingfromMunam-
bam near Kochi was caught by British Indian
Ocean Territory (BIOT) authorities for fishing
without a licence in their waters and then re-
leased after two weeks after confiscating their
fishing gear and catch. Of the nine boats de-
tained by the British navy, at least three were
operating from Kochi. Fishing near BIOT –
which includes the heavily guarded naval base
of Diego Garcia that is jointly managed by the
US and Britain – is a recent trend among fisher-
men of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Indian fishermen had become such a nui-
sance to the secretive Diego Garcia that the
British foreign and commonwealth office
(FCO) in London had written to the high com-
mission of India listing 15 Indian vessels that
were sighted in BIOT waters and indulging
in illegal fishing activities in December 2014.
They had requested the government’s help
to prosecute the owners of the boats that
were caught. At present, nine boat owners
from Tamil Nadu are being investigated
by a British team.
“FCO further
requests the ur-
gent assurance
from High Com-
mission that edu-
cation of the fish-
ing communities
of Tamil Nadu re-
gion is undertak-
en in respect of
the presence of a
no-take Marine
Protected Area in
theentire200nau-
ticalmileEnviron-
mental Protection and Preservation Zone of
BIOT. Any fishing activity in these waters will
be treated with the utmost severity and owners
willbeprosecutedtothefullestextentof thelaw,
with court sanctions including fines up to
£500,000 (Rs 5 crore), seizure of vessels, catch
andgear,andimprisonmentof upto6months,”
British FCO wrote to Indian High Commission
in December.
“Our fishermen first ventured into the wa-
ters of Diego Garcia only in December 2014 as
theavailabilityof fishhadgonedowninIndian
waters. They went in search of colder waters
where fish would thrive. During their trips in
search of uninhabited islands in the interna-
tionalwatersof theIndianOcean,theyacciden-
tally found a huge cache of fish near Diego
Garcia,” said Fr John Churchill, general secre-
tary of South Asian Fishermen Fraternity
(SAFF)anon-governmentalorganizationwork-
ing for the welfare of fishermen.
Fishavailabilitywentdownafterthetsunami
episode, said J Mariyadasan, a native of Thoot-
hoorandacrewmemberof BeoHingis,thatwas
captured and released by the British Navy re-
cently for entering BIOT waters. Waters near
Diego Garcia are full of sharks and tuna – high
valueexportitemsthatattractaminimumprice
of Rs 200/kg in the local market. When caught,
Greeshma 1 had 11.5 tonnes of fish in its hold,
including 12 different varieties.
Reaching Diego Garcia, 2,000 km south of
Kochi, is a perilous journey. “We stocked 6,000
litresof diesel.Whenyouhaveaheadwind,you
burnmorediesel,meaningyoumightreachyour
destination,butnotreturnhome,”saidMariya-
dasan.
IndianfishermenoftenlandinBritishNavy’s
net with fishing gear like wirelines, harpoons
or arrows, all banned under BIOT ordinance.
This is because of total ignorance of the local
laws, argued Vincent Jain, CEO of Kanyaku-
mari-headquartered Association of Deep Sea
Going Artisanal Fishermen.
Thoothoor fishermen, known for their
seafaring abilities, use Kerala ports as the
base for their operations. “Being more famil-
iar with the west coast’s weather and due to
lack of fish landing centres or fishing har-
bours for mechanized boats in Kanyakumari,
they operate from Kerala,” said Fr Churchill.
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Kochi: The magistrate’s court of British Indian
Ocean Territory (BIOT) had recently fined
Indian boat owners up to Rs 18.2 lakh for il-
legalfishingandforusingprohibitedfishing
gear in their waters. After releasing the boats
and its crew, the BIOT court first sent them sum-
monstoappearbeforeitfortrial.Thoughthefish-
ermenreceivedthesummonsinIndia,theydidn’t
gobacktoDiegoGarciaandhencewereconvicted
in absentia.
KTitus,ownerof fishingboatGreeshma1,was
fined£18,200(Rs18.2lakh), whileTitusSeso,own-
er of Bosin was told to remit £5,200 (Rs 5.2 lakh).
The court also sent them a copy of the court pro-
ceedings and a certificate of conviction.
Theyalsosenttheownersabankaccountnumber
to pay the fine. The 30-day deadline to pay the fine
ended on March 26, 2015, but the owners did not
remit the fine. The real risk of fishing in Diego
Garciaisnotthefine,butthefinancialimpactdue
to the confiscation of fishing gear and catch from
the boats.
“Our fishing gear, worth Rs 23 lakh, was con-
fiscated by the navy there,” said J Mariyadasan,
one of the 12 fishermen on board Beo Hingis, the
vessel released on May 3, 2015 by BIOT. However,
he is unsure whether his boat will be fined, like
the other two boats. “Their officers took our cap-
tain Stephen Shibu to the office to enquire about
our boat,” he said.
Boats told to pay `18 lakh as fine
‘British officers
treated us well’
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Kochi:BritishofficersatDiego
Garciatookgoodcareof ussaid
one of the 12 Indian fishermen
caughtinthelastweekof April
forillegallyenteringthewaters
of British Indian Ocean Terri-
tory (BIOT).
“They provided us food
thrice a day, which included a
breakfast of milk, bread, rice,
salads and cake. This was fol-
lowed by lunch that included
rice, bread, apple and a small
packet of juice. Supper was a
similar treat given by 3pm. On
arrival, they gave us soap and
shampoo,”saidJMariyadasan,
a crew member of Beo Hingis,
which was caught by the Brit-
ish Navy on April 19 and re-
leased on May 3, 2015.
Though the crew was taken
into custody, they weren’t any
securityofficerswatchingthem
in the immediate vicinity.
They took us to the cooler side
of the port and let us sleep in
the boat. “The officers prom-
ised to take us to the beach for
a stroll, but they had to drop
the plan as it rained that day,”
said Mariyadasan, who hails
from Thoothoor in Kanyaku-
mari district of Tamil Nadu.
Kochi: Indian Ocean Tuna Commission
(IOTC), an inter-governmental
organization involved in the management
of fishing tuna and similar fishes, listed
all the 15 Indian boats that intruded into
the waters of British Indian Ocean
Territory (BIOT) as illegal, unregulated
and unreported (IUU) vessels.
During the first week of January 2015,
C C Rees, head of the UK delegation to
IOTC, wrote to the Government of India’s
(GoI) joint secretary (fisheries) Raja
Sekhar Vundru asking to detain the boat
Bosin, suspend the licence and help
comply with the court order.
According to IOTC documents, Rees
later wrote to Ansy Mathew, GoI’s
fisheries research and investigation
officer demanding accurate details of the
registered owners of the seven fishing
boats to complete the investigation
conducted by BIOT against them. The
boats were St Mary's No 1, St Mary's No
2, King Jesus, Dignamol 1, Dignamol 2,
Carmal Matha and Benaiah. TNN
IOTC LISTS INDIAN
BOATS AS ILLEGAL
SPECIES OF FISH AND
LOCAL PRICES IN KG
Tiger shark – `200 to `250
Bull shark – `250 to `300
Sail fish – `200
Red snapper – `100
Coral cod – `150 to `200
GREESHMA 1
Detained on - December 5, 2014
Released on – December 17, 2014
Caught with - 11.5 tonnes of fish
Fine – `18.2 lakh
BOSIN
Detained on - December 14, 2014
Released on – December 20, 2014
Caught with – 300 kg of fish
Fine – `5.2 lakh
EXPENSES
Crew salary – `250 to `300 a day
Diesel – `3.5 lakh (nearly 6,000 litres)
Ice – `35,000 (500 blocks of ice)
Food – `50,000
LEGAL TANGLE
List of Indian fishing boats against which
British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is
conducting criminal investigation
➤ Greeshma 1 – detained on Dec 5, 2014
➤ St Mary's No1 - detained on Dec 11, 2014
➤ St Mary's No2 – detained on Dec 11, 2014
➤ King Jesus - detained on Dec 11, 2014
➤ Dignamol I - detained on Dec 11, 2014
➤ Dignamol II - detained Dec 11, 2014
➤ Carmal Matha - detained Dec 11, 2014
➤ Benaiah - detained on Dec 11, 2014
➤ Bosin - detained on Dec 14, 2014
Source: BIOT
DETAINED & RELEASED
DIEGO GARCIA
It is a 'V-shaped'
archipelago lying half-
way between India and
Africa. Discovered by the
Portuguese in the early 16th century,
it was part of Mauritius till 1965,
when it became a part of British
Indian Ocean Territory. Though a
British territory, the naval base of
Diego Garcia is jointly operated by
the UK and US
Our fishing gear,
worth `23 lakh,
was confiscated by the
navy there
J Mariyadasan | CREW, BEO HINGIS
Representational picture
Graphic: Gireesh
KOCHI
KANYAKUMARI
Diego Garcia
Kochi: Chain snatching has
become a concern in Kala-
masserywithtwocasesbeing
reported over the past three
days. In both incidents, the
culprits managed to escape
after grabbing chain of two
women.
Police said that snatchers
areprimarilytargetingwom-
en who are travelling on two-
wheelers. Meanwhile, police
have intensified combing op-
erations and evening patrols
totracetheculprits.
On Tuesday, unidentified
youth snatched a four sover-
eign gold chain from a wom-
an at Kalamassery town
while she was travelling on
scooter. A resident of Koo-
namthai near Edappally, the
woman was returning home
afterworkwhenunidentified
mensnatchedherchain.
On Monday, the necklace
of another woman was
snatched near HMT Junc-
tion, Kalamassery, when she
was travelling on a bike with
her husband.
The thieves
left the scene
with one-and
-a-half sover-
eignof gold.
“In both
cases, the snatchers targeted
women who were travelling
on motorcycles. There is an
extra advantage for snatch-
ers as the victims will not be
able to react from the motor-
cycle. This new modus op-
erandiisalsoreportedinoth-
er parts of the city. We are
tracking the culprits,” said
police.
Last week, a woman lost
Rs 3,000 after unidentified
men snatched and ran away
with her handbag at Kala-
massery.
14-year-oldgirlmissing:A
14-year-old girl from Vypeen
has reportedly gone missing
from her home on Tuesday.
Shine, daughter of Sebas-
tian, a tile worker from Vy-
peen, was at home when he
returned home after work at
7pmonTuesday.
But the girl went missing
between 7pm and 7.30 pm
when Sebastian went for a
bath. He also found his mo-
bile and money missing from
hisshirt’spocket.
Though the family
searched for Shine outside
the house, she could not be
traced. As per the complaint
lodged by Sebastian, the girl
had run away from home a
year ago. He has also report-
ed police about a man who
had come for a construction
work near their home few
monthsago.
Police said that neigh-
bour of the family found
Shinewalkingtothebusstop
with a bag around 7.30pm on
the same day. Meanwhile, po-
lice is also trying to track
Shine by locating the tower
of hermobilephone.
Chain snatchers target
women bike ridersTIMES NEWS NETWORK
Tripunithura:TP
SankaramkuttyNairhasbeen
appointedasthenewdirector
generalofCentreforHeritage
StudiesatHillPalaceMuseum.
Thepostwaslyingvacantafter
thecontroversialremovalofM
GSNarayanan.Hewilltake
chargeonThursday.
Nairwasamemberofthe
academiccouncilofCHS.“Asa
personwhoknowsthe
limitationsandpossibilitiesof
CHS,Iwouldliketoconcentrate
onthecoursesincludedinthe
curriculumofCHS,”hesaid.
CHSplanstoopenheritage
hubsineachpanchayattoscan
theheritagepotentialthere.
Hehasalsowrittenmany
booksonhistory,includingThe
TragicDecadeofKerala
History(onPazhassiRaja),
whichhadbaggedKPPanicker
award. TNN
Heritage centre
gets new director
Kochi: The Fort Kochi vil-
lage officer has issued a
stop work notice to Patta-
lam Hanafi Juma Masjid
for encroaching on two
cents of land adjoining the
building.
The notice says that the
masjid has erected a wood-
en fence illegally on the
western portion and grown
plantain trees in it.
The plot is part of the
‘puramboke’landasperthe
notice. The action follows a
complaint filed by local res-
idents on the encroach-
ment in the first week of
May.
Residents say that they
want the authorities to de-
velop the encroached land
and the adjoining ‘puram-
boke’ land into a park. “The
land surrounding the mas-
jid belongs to the state and
the intention behind this
construction is to bifurcate
the land and encroach the
same with the passage of
time. The land could be
used for more beneficial
purposes like the construc-
tion of a park,” said A P Jo-
sey, a resident of the area.
In 2011, residents had
submitted a mass petition
to the then revenue minis-
ter, alleging encroachment
of land by the masjid.
After inspection, the
revenue divisional officer
had directed the additional
tahasildar to identify the
boundaries and ascertain
the area of encroachment.
In 2014, the municipal-
ity had issued a show cause
notice asking why the mas-
jid authorities had failed to
demolish two floors of the
building, allegedly con-
structed illegally. The offi-
cials conducted a hearing
on April 18 and a final deci-
sion is pending.
Meanwhile, masjid sec-
retary Hanafi Basi Irahath
denied charges of en-
croachment and said the
idea was to beautify the ar-
ea. He also denied any ille-
gal construction.
Residents say that the
authorities are dilly-dally-
ing without taking a deci-
sion. “In one such case, the
Supreme Court had or-
dered the eviction of all en-
croachments by houses of
worship on public spaces.
But RDO officials have
failed to act here,” said K V
Ansal, a resident.
Stop memo to Pattalam masjid
TOIRochelle.DSouza
@timesgroup.com
The notice says
that the masjid
has erected a
wooden fence
illegally on the
western portion
and grown
plantain trees in it
DISPUTED PLOT: Residents have claimed that Pattalam Hanafi Juma
Masjid has encroached on two cents of land adjoining the mosque
Kochi: “CBSE students who
have written the board-based
exam will be considered for ad-
mission to state board schools
in first phase of allotments it-
self,” said Joseph C J, who
works at Focus Point in Govt
GirlsHSSNorthParavur.How-
ever, those who appeared for
CBSE’sschool-basedexamwill
be given a chance to apply in
thesecondphaseof allotment.
Focus points have been set
up at seven places in the taluk
to help students fill the online
admission forms to Plus One
statesyllabusschools.
Trial allotment is expected
to start on June 3 followed by
the first allotment, which is ex-
pected to start on June 10. By
June last week, the first phase
of allotment is expected to be
completed. The classes for the
academicyear2015-16willcom-
menceonJuly1.
CBSE students
to figure in
state schools’
admission list
BEACHED Jipson Sikhera
NOWHERE TO GO: Private boats lying idle at Marine Drive on Wednesday — the 9th day of the indefinite strike
called by a section of private boat workers in Kochi. The final stage of discussions between the owners and
workers is scheduled on Thursday
TIMES CITYTHE TIMES OF INDIA, KOCHI | THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2015
STATE TO APPROACH EMPLOYERS ABROAD
TO HELP YEMEN RETURNEES FIND JOBS | P4
KPCC URGES CHIEF MINISTER AND OTHER CONGRESS
MINISTERS TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE | P5
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Product: TOICochinBS PubDate: 14-05-2015 Zone: Kochi Edition: 1 Page: TOIKRK02 User: vinayaj0510 Time: 05-13-2015 23:10 Color: CMYK