KOCHI: The 47-day ban on trawling should be extended to 60 days in two different phases, said the expert committee constituted to evaluate the fish wealth and the impact of trawling ban.
The committee has also recommended the introduction of a 60-day ban on the ring seining of pelagic fish in April and May, which is the peak of the spawning season.
The main finding of the committee is that the the benefit of trawling ban, in terms of yield and value, was not sustained post-ban over the past nine years, and after 2000 there has been a decline in both yield and value of the fish resource.
The committee also recommended issuance of licence to trawlers on the basis of the gear used in them, instead of issuing all-encompassing licences.
The committee, in total, has 66 recommendations on the impact of trawling ban, both in terms of yield and value, the optimum mesh size of various gears, restrictions on the engine horsepower of different fishing crafts, and a new fisheries governance structure in participatory mode.
The committee, with Department of Fisheries additional director Saira Banu as chairperson, consists of K Sunil Mohammed and T V Sathyanandan, both principal scientists at the Central Marine Fisheries Institute (CMFRI); P Pravin and M V Baiju of the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT); Chandrasekharan Nair, law officer at the Department of Fisheries; Fisheries joint director K M Lethy; and State Fisheries Resource Management Society (FIRMA) executive director P Sahadevan.
Fisheries (Marine) deputy director Laila Devi was the convener, and Department of Fisheries technical assistant P S Sivaprasad was the co-convener. Meanwhile, the Kerala State Boat Owners Association has welcomed the recommendations made by the expert committee.
“We have been demanding a change in the selection of the season for imposing the ban. We had been following this practice during monsoon for the last 26 years. Yet, the quantity of the catch is diminishing. Now, it has been proved that the ban has not brought about the desired result,” said Association secretary Joseph Xavier Kalappurakkal.