Asserting that fishermen were the eyes and ears’ of coastal security, the Indian Navy has asked the fishing community to contact security agencies to strengthen coastal security and contain smuggling activities in the sea. Addressing a community interaction programme with fishermen here on Tuesday, Commodore M. Vineet, Staff Officer, Coastal Security, Headquarters, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, said the meeting with the fishing community was part of navy’s regular interaction programme to sensitise them to the need to strengthen coastal security. Stating that any new face in the sea would be first identified by the fishermen, he said, We have told them that they are the eyes and ears of coastal security and they should alert the security agencies when they come across new faces or any suspicious movements. He also exhorted the fishermen to adopt safe fishing practices and carry biometric identity cards while fishing. Boat owners and Fisheries department officials should also ensure that the fishermen carried identity cards. This would help security agencies identify wrongdoers. When Sri Lankan Navy arrested about 350 fishermen in the recent past, it was found that only 15% of them had valid identity cards, he said. Answering a question on the charges by the fishermen that the Lankan navy entered Indian waters and chased them away, Commodore Vineet said this could be verified only if the fishermen gave details such as the names and numbers of boats, and the exact time and location. Replying to a question, he said transponders were being fixed in sub-20-metre-long fishing boats’ as per the decision taken at a meeting of the National Committee for Strengthening Maritime and Coastal Security. Gujarat and Tamil Nadu were covered in the first phase, he said, adding transponders were fixed in about 250 boats in Tamil Nadu and 50-odd boats in Puducherry and Karaikal. This is not to track the movement of the fishermen but to rescue them when they were in distress, he said. He said a decision on joint patrolling by Indian and Sri Lankan navies to contain smuggling activities could be possible only if the Joint Working Group (JWG) between the two countries took a decision to this effect. On fishermen crossing International Maritime Boundary Line, he said the fishermen had GPS sets and smart phones and with the help of an app they could get alerts when they crossed the IMBL.