Fishermen from the region have once again put forward their demand for a separate Union fisheries ministry, pointing out that fisheries is currently under the department under the ministry of agriculture. President of International Fishermen Development Trust Justin Antony said that fisheries require a separate ministry due to the growing complexity of issues faced by fishermen. Fishermen feel that fisheries have not got its due importance because the fund it attracts is very less, as priority is for agriculture, followed by animal husbandry. Antony who has been demanding for a separate ministry for fishing from 2009, said that he has once again made a representation to the government in line with World Fisheries Day that is celebrated on November 21. Thanking the state government for celebrating this day at Kanyakumari on Tuesday, he made an appeal to the state and Centre to fulfill the host of long pending demands of fishermen in the district. The prime demand was ensuring safety of fishermen. He asked for a separate chopper service based at Kanyakumari to attend to fishermen in distress at high seas. “This will be of great help in case of any untoward incident such as natural disaster or in case of illness. It would also help in identifying ships that run into fishing boats and claim lives, like the one that took place off Kozhikode last month,” he said. He added that the chopper service would also expedite search operations for fishermen who go missing in such incidents, as three of the fishermen are still missing even though it has been more than a month since the incident. Stating that there are around 15,000 fishermen in this district, he said that it is high time they give them training on basic first aid and empower them to handle health issues such as cardiac arrests till they reach the shore. Insurance cover for mechanised and country boats, fixing relief under chief minister’s relief fund for families of fishermen killed on the seas at Rs 10 lakh, compensation for fishermen under the group insurance scheme from existing Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, increasing compensation for the missing fishermen through the Tamil Nadu Fishermen Welfare Board from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh are their other key demands.The trust has also sought priority for fisher youth in employment in the uniformed services such as coastal guard and marine police.