Nearly 300 fishermen and boat owners, who met with marine scientists, law enforcement and marine security agencies here at a workshop on Saturday, have mooted 24-hour kiosks at fishing harbours to register boats and fishers going out to sea. The workshop, organised jointly by Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi and Cochin Long Line Boat and Gill Net Agents’ Association, was held in the wake of the death and destruction caused by cyclone Ockhi. Over 180 fishermen and 17 boats, believed to have been caught in the heavy winds and high waves in the outer sea, are yet to be traced. The kiosks would be able to use either manual or the latest electronic devices to register the fishers and fishing boats with the help of the police and marine enforcement agencies, said Charles George of Aikya Vedhi on Sunday, reviewing the discussions that took place on Saturday. He said that a high-level meeting among marine enforcement and Revenue authorities were being convened here on December 28 to thrash out the means and methods to be adopted to ensure foolproof security for the fishermen, their equipment and boats in the future. The fishers and security agencies were unanimous in their opinion that this should be a turning point in the way fishermen’s security is handled in the future. Things cannot be left as it is, said Mr. George echoing the opinion of the fishers, boat owners and law enforcement agencies, whose opinion were heard over two long sessions at the workshop. Safety equipment The fishermen were also of the opinion that they are engaged in an activity that generate substantial revenue. They felt that the government should be generous and come forward to ensure that they had sufficient equipment to ensure their security. Besides the business of fishing, the boats pay up to Rs. 25,000 a year in user fee. However, there appeared to be no good coming out of this for the fishermen. Communication Among the topics discussed were equipment needed on board fishing boats for communication and emergency alerts. Possibly a dedicated channel for telecommunication for the fishermen, use of the radio, and Automatic Identification System were among the possibilities discussed at the workshop. Scientists from Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, CIFNET as well as senior officials from the police and marine police forces were present at the discussions. * Meet on December 28 to thrash out means to ensure foolproof security of fishermen * Dedicated channel for telecommunication for fishermen proposed