The Fisheries Department will issue biometric identity cards to all the fishermen in the coastal districts, said Deputy Director of Fisheries, Thippeswamy. He was speaking at a meeting of fishermen leaders at his office here in the background of issue of a red alert in the sea. While there are 34,960 active fishermen in the district, only 11,720 were issued biometric cards till 2016. Thereafter, the cards were not issued. He said officials from Bharat Electronics Ltd., which had issued the cards, visited Mangaluru recently to take stock of the situation. The process of issuing the cards will commence soon, he said. The officer also stated that the department would verify documents of those who have already got the cards. The verification was needed following allegations that non-fishermen were getting cards to get facilities being given to fishermen. Illegal cards will be cancelled, Mr. Thippeswamy said. Meanwhile, the department has decided to link these biometric cards with Aadhaar cards of the beneficiaries. The process will be completed in another two months. Mr. Thippeswamy said the government was not issuing fresh licences to fishing vessels following capacity saturation. The measure is required to prevent further loss to existing fishermen. As an one-time measure, fresh applications were considered in 2016 and 285 people had applied. Of them, only 85 got the feasibility certificate to procure new boats, he said. The officer said following the issue of red alert by the administration, fishermen are required to notify the authorities of any suspicious vessel in the sea. He urged fishermen to carry necessary documents to prove their identity while going for fishing. Workers from other States employed for fishing in Karnataka are issued temporary identity cards by fishermen societies concerned and they should carry such cards, he added. The government is also considering providing satellite phones to all fishing vessels at concessional rates, modalities of which are being worked out.
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