Fishers venture into risky waters and called back |23 November 2012

They also switched of their radios against all advice, making contact with them impossible so a Seychelles Coast Guard vessel had to travel physically to where they were to urge them to come back amid reports there were pirates nearby.

Commander of the SCG Lieutenant Colonel Georges Adeline and the director general of the Seychelles Maritime Authority Joachim Valmont yesterday said the boats are now sailing back, adding that the government is spending a lot of resources to try and protect our fishermen but they should in turn do their best to stay out of danger.

Although the two officers said they recognise that these people are trying to earn their living, the media wanted to know if fishermen who carelessly go into dangerous waters can be penalised the same way the rest of us are fined for not wearing seat belts on our way to work for our own safety.

“Except going into pirate-infested waters is 100 times more serious,” a journalist told Nation.

There has been a lull in piracy partly because the sea has been rough but it is believed pirates will resume their activities with a determination to make up for the time they were out of their dirty business, and Seychellois are likely to be targeted because of the lead role this country is playing and the recent liberation of two fishermen for whom they expected US $20 million.