All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators’ Association leaders have come up with an allegation that the authorities were facilitating fishing by foreign vessels in the coast.
“Fishermen set out to sea from Kerala have reported that they spotted ‘Atlantic Dawn’, an Irish fishing vessel which is one of the largest of its kind in the world. The vessel was spotted around 80 nautical miles off the coast,” Association general secretary Joseph Xavier Kalappurakkal.
“ When we contacted the officials of the the Fisheries Survey of India, they confirmed the presence of foreign vessels along Kerala coast,” said Boat Operators’ Association general secretary Joseph Xavier Kalappurakkal. He said the presence of foreign trawlers along Kerala coast proved the allegations by stakeholders in the fishing sector, to be right.
Various organisations in the fishing sector, boat owners as well as common fishermen, have been urging the government to control fishing activities by foreign vessels in Indian waters.
There have been allegations that mindless fishing by these big vessels is one of the reasons for depletion of the fish wealth.
“We came to know that the fishermen on board the ‘Atlantic dawn’ have got a very good catch of tuna. The vessel has the capacity to carry about 8,000 tonnes,” he said. He urged authorities to intervene in the issue immediately.