KENDRAPARA: The two-month ban on deep sea fishing imposed by the State Government to facilitate fish breeding from April 15 is put to best use by the boat owners by repairing and colouring their boats.
The boat repairing trade is done particularly in Kharinashi, Ramanagar, Barapada and Jamboo of the district. Over 350 craftsmen of the area are involved in constructing new country boats and repairing the damaged ones. On an average, it takes at least two weeks to build a new country boat at a cost ranging from Rs 40,000 to Rs two lakhs. Similarly, the repair work costs Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000.
"During the ban period, many fishermen work as carpenters and painters to sustain their livelihood. They repaint the boats as per colour code which has been made mandatory by the Government," said Saroj Mandal, a boat maker of Kharinashi.
The colour code was made compulsory to check the entry of fishing vessels of other States and countries into the sea water of Odisha. Each coastal State will have its own colour code which will help the marine police, Coast Guard and Navy to identify to which State a particular boat belongs to.
"We are painting the cabins of fishing vessels in red and the upper and lower portions with black colour as per the instructions of Fishery department," said Mahendra Mandal, a boat maker of Ramanagar.
"We have directed the fishing vessel owners to paint their boats with the prescribed colours during the 60-day fishing ban period," said Biraja Prasanna Mohapatra, Additional Fishery Officer (marine) of Kujang.