Union Govt's Neglect in Kerala Ship Accident: No Probe Into Marine Deaths, Relief Remains Inadequate

New Delhi/Kerala :  In the aftermath of a recent ship accident off Kerala’s coast, concerns were raised over the safety of marine resources and the livelihoods of thousands of fisher-folk who depend on them. Responding to a set of questions posed in Parliament by Congress MP K.C. Venugopal, the Central Government, through the Ministry of Fisheries, stated that preliminary tests conducted on seawater and fish samples did not reveal any traces of oil or hazardous chemicals. The findings, based on analysis by various government agencies, suggested that the marine ecosystem had not been immediately compromised by the incident.

Fish samples collected from major coastal districts—Ernakulam, Alappuzha, and Kollam—were deemed safe for human consumption. This assurance came as a temporary relief to a population heavily reliant on marine produce for both livelihood and sustenance. However, in a related environmental observation, four dolphin carcasses and a whale were reported to have washed ashore in Alappuzha district shortly after the incident. The Central Government, while acknowledging these deaths, admitted that no investigation or scientific study had been undertaken to determine their cause, raising questions about the depth of ecological oversight.

The incident had a direct and severe impact on Kerala’s coastal economy. Following the ship accident, a fishing ban was imposed, resulting in a reported revenue loss of Rs. 106.51 crore, according to data submitted by the Kerala government to the Union Government. While the loss was significant, financial assistance from the Union Government has not materialised, despite multiple appeals from the state. The only relief provided to affected families came from the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF), which disbursed Rs. 1,000 and 6 kilograms of rice to each fishing family. This gesture has been widely criticised as grossly inadequate, considering the scale of economic disruption experienced by coastal communities.

Political reactions have intensified as a result. Opposition leaders and Kerala Government have criticised the Union Government for its inaction and called for more substantial and targeted support for Kerala’s fishers. Kerala's fishing unions have also raised these concerns, demanding the immediate formation of a Fisheries Management Council to address not only disaster response but also the long-term degradation of marine resources. They claim that cumulative losses in Kerala's fisheries sector over the past few years exceed Rs. 10,000 crore, pointing to over-fishing, juvenile harvesting, and illegal foreign trawlers as major contributors to the ongoing crisis.

While marine fishing is in decline, with landings falling from 6.9 lakh tonnes in 2022–23 to 5.8 lakh tonnes in 2023–24, the state has begun to import around 539 tonnes of fish daily to meet local demand. This reliance on imports is placing further pressure on the domestic market and raising costs for consumers. Inland aquaculture is gradually filling some of the gaps. Production from inland fish farming has increased from 0.25 lakh tonnes five years ago to 2.1 lakh tonnes today.

Fishermen, already battling declining catches and longer gaps between fishing days, have also suffered from policy inconsistencies. The number of viable fishing days has dropped drastically—from nearly 300 per year to just about 100—owing to both regulatory bans and adverse climatic conditions. The Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) has urged the government to increase surveillance along India’s western coast, introduce better technologies such as turtle-excluder devices in trawl nets, and ensure compliance with international standards.

Environmentalists and marine scientists continue to call for deeper studies into the long-term impact of such accidents on marine biodiversity. The uninvestigated deaths of dolphins and whales highlight a gap in the union government's responsiveness to ecological distress signals. Despite assurances of water quality and fish safety, the lack of follow-up studies could leave critical questions unanswered.

While initial findings suggest that the marine environment may have avoided immediate toxic contamination, the socio-economic damage caused by the accident and subsequent policy responses has left a deep scar. The fisher-folk of Kerala are yet to receive meaningful support from the Union Government, and the larger systemic issues facing the state’s marine economy—ranging from ecological degradation to under-compensated disaster relief—remain unresolved.