The State government is working on a comprehensive policy which would ensure a regular income for fishermen, said Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar on Friday. Inaugurating a one-day workshop on Deep Sea Fishing in Tamil Nadu – Challenges and Opportunities’ at the Institute of Post-Graduate Studies of TNFU in Vaniyanchavadi, Mr. Jayakumar detailed the various schemes evolved for the welfare of fishermen. The Fisheries University was offering training programmes for them in deep sea fishing, he said. As part of its modernisation programme aimed to train fishermen in deep-sea fishing, the government had issued an order proposing to convert trawl boats operating in Palk Waters into deep sea fishing vessels at a cost of ?80 lakh each. The government had proposed to convert 500 trawlers into deep sea fishing (tuna liner and gill netter) in 2017-18, another 500 in 2018-19 and 1,000 more trawlers by 2019-20 with the assistance from the Central government. In the first phase, trawl boats in Rameswaram region were to be converted into deep sea vessels. More than 100 fishermen drawn from Rameswaram, Mandapam and Pamban regions attended the workshop where the experts offered their inputs for making them understand the nuances of deep sea fishing. Director of Fisheries Department V.P.Thandapani said regulated and cooperative marketing policy was in store for the fishermen for a better livelihood. Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Department Principal Secretary K. Gopal said the potential for carrying out fishing near coastal lines had depleted in the recent past and this was one area where they could be assured of regular income by involving the in deep sea fishing. TNFU Vice-Chancellor S. Felix and Dean and Convener G. Sukumar spoke. The workshop was organised by the Tamil Nadu Fisheries University and State Fisheries Department .