Despite local fisherfolk at Munambam throwing a vigilant eye around the area following the recent incident of human trafficking, the fluid population of hundreds of migrant fishermen to the harbour is posing difficulty. According to native fishing boat operators, about 90% of fisherfolk who work in the harbour are migrants. Boat operators have expressed their difficulty in maintaining proper records about their whereabouts on a regular basis because of the fluid nature of the migrant population. “There has been a steady increase in the number of migrant workers who engage in fishing from Munambam harbour over the past five years along with a dwindling population of native fishers”, said K K Pushkaran, a boat operator at Munambam and vice-president of All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators’ Association (AKFBOA). Presence of a proper monitoring mechanism in the harbour might have averted the recent issue of human trafficking, he added. According to native fisherfolk, even owners of the boats are unaware about the identities of fishers who set out to sea. “Functioning of the harbour is quite similar to the ways in which migrant labourers are being hired for construction activities. To meet the count of fishermen required in the boat, migrant fisherfolk who would be present in the harbour are being hired for fishing and there is no guarantee that the same person would be coming to the same boat the next time,” said AKFBOA treasurer K B Kassim. Despite the rule by the department of fisheries that identity proofs of fishers should be submitted at the department, fishing boat operators said that it was not being followed effectively in case of migrant labourers because of practical difficulties. “A strict monitoring mechanism should be developed in the harbour,” added Kassim. According to district fisheries department officials, if the mobile application ‘Sagara’, which was launched by the fisheries department throughout the state, was used efficiently, it could have helped in tracking fishermen who venture out into the sea. Sagara app, which was developed with an aim to monitor data of fishermen who venture out into sea, has provisions for fisherfolk to enter details about people onboard the boat. Fishermen can also enter the expected direction and distance the boat has set its course to. “Though about 1,300 fishing boats in the district have registered through the app, there are only a few who use it regularly before each fishing trip,” said an official of fisheries department. The department has also been conducting classes among the fishers to give training on how to use the mobile application. “If the app is used regularly, it could provide a strong database about fishers who venture out into the sea,” said the official.