Deep sea fishing vessel owners resorted to a black flag agitation on the port to press their demands on Monday. According to them, the Puducherry administration had allocated Rs 14.25 crore for dredging the estuary of the port here to facilitate the smooth sailing of fishing vessels. The dredging corporation of India was entrusted with the work and it was yet to be completed though it was started in March 2017 and wondered what happened to the funds. They said fishermen could not venture into the sea and had incurred a loss to the tune of Rs 300 crore. Puducherry is the worst port in the country and needed to be developed into one like Kasimedu port in Chennai utilising the service of qualified engineers and experts. They also demanded a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the owners of fishing vessels and Rs 20,000 each to the male and female members of the fishermen cooperative society. They also demanded that the Central government drop the move to give licence for fishing to huge institutions under the Sagar Mala scheme. All should raise their voice for the cause of fishermen.