Berhampur: Around 200 fishermen from Andhra Pradesh, along with 27 fishing trawlers, were provided temporary shelter at Gopalpur Port and the fish landing centre at Arjyapalli in Ganjam district on Tuesday after rough sea conditions triggered by a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal left them stranded at sea.Fifteen trawlers took shelter at the Arjyapalli jetty, while 12 others anchored near Gopalpur Port. The fishermen, mostly from Kakinada and Visakhapatnam, had ventured into deep waters for fishing and were unable to return as the sea turned turbulent under the influence of the weather system.“As they could not return to their native places due to rough sea conditions, they sought shelter at two locations in the district,” said Devidutta Mohanty, assistant fisheries officer (marine), Ganjam.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has advised fishermen against venturing into the sea between Sept 21 and 25 due to adverse weather conditions.District officials expressed concern that the Andhra fishermen had ventured into the sea despite advance warnings about the formation of the depression in the Bay of Bengal.Following intervention by the district administration, Gopalpur Port authorities allowed the trawlers to enter a safe backwater zone. The fishermen are reported to be safe and are managing with food supplies stocked on board for about a week.Officials said the fishermen will return to Andhra Pradesh once sea conditions improve.This is the second such instance in recent months. On July 6, the Ganjam administration had similarly sheltered more than 200 Andhra fishermen and their trawlers at Gopalpur after rough weather prevented them from returning home.Mohanty said local fishermen in Ganjam had stayed off the sea since Monday after being alerted about the IMD warning. Officials believe the Andhra fishermen may have ventured out despite the weather advisory.
