MANGALURU:After a hiatus of 61 days of monsoon fishing ban, the new fishing season 2017-18 will open on Tuesday August 1. The season opens with a new hope as for the first time in the history of capture fishing in India, the monsoon ban has been uniformly spread out all across the Western coast maritime states - Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
“In a typical fishing season, the Karnataka coast with three districts - Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada land 4.5 lakh tonnes of fish. There has been a swing of 10-12 percent per year in volume and value and it happened also in the last fishing year. The swing happens due to many factors including the environmental factor. However, at the moment the current fisheries season is looking good as we have all the parameters - environmental, logistical, human resources and machinery all in place at the right time. The subsidised diesel of 1.5 lakh Kiloliters has also been in stock for the season,” Karnataka state Director of Fisheries Dr Veerappa Gowda told Express.
However, Karnataka fisheries industry has a cause for worry as its marine fisheries export portfolio still lags at just 1 lakh MT per annum. According to world standards, it would be ideal to have 40 per cent of its catch exported.