Officials inspect a trawler stationed at the fishing jetty in Rameswaram on Tuesday.

Officials of the Fisheries Department on Tuesday inspected fishing boats stationed at Rameswaram jetty in Ramanathapuram district, as the 61-day fishing ban ends on June 14.  

The inspection entailed checking the stability of the vessels, specifications such as length and breadth, engine, net material, documents and registration number, among others.  

The officials said the inspection began with trawlers, and in the following days, country boats would be checked.

The district had a total of about 1,500 trawlers: 557 in Rameswaram, 100 in Pamban, 555 in Mandapam, 30 in Keezhakarai and 76 in Thondi. The district also had about 4,500 country boats.  

The inspection, which was aimed at ensuring that the fishermen were using the boats registered with the department, was essential as the boats would be repaired and even altered during the ban period. In order to ensure that the boat’s specification had not been changed and abided by the government’s norms, all aspects would be considered, an official said.  

When boats were found to be different from the documents or deviating from the set norms, they would be directed to be taken out from the sea. Recently, four trawlers that were found to be using engines with more horsepower than what was recommended were held and released only when the engines were changed, he added.