THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Dashing the hopes of operators of large mechanised boats, the government has deferred plans to allow full scale fishing in the state. Now, the trawlers are unlikely to operate till the time the lockdown is lifted, a source said. The boat operators had made the request after the Centre allowed states to take the call on the issue without compromising on social distancing.
“Presently, the coastal zone is relatively safe in terms of Covid incidence. We cannot take any decision that may accelerate the spread,” said a Fisheries Ministry official. According to him, it will be difficult to maintain social distancing in harbours in the event of more fishing vessels returning with the catch. “All that we can do now is to allow more small boats in a step by step manner and streamline the sale of fish,” said the officer. “Even if we allow trawlers, the fish supply chain mechanism cannot be streamlined. The processing plants have been shut and exports banned,” he said.
All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators’ Association (AKFBOA) said the states along the Western coast such as Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra have allowed trawlers to operate. It called upon the government to lift the ban lest the fishing sector should be irrevocably paralysed.
“Besides being a major revenue earner for the government, there are around three lakh fisher households relying on the sector,” said Peter Mathias, state president, AKFBOA. Compounding the woes of fishers, the boat operators in the West Coast are staring at a 61-day trawling ban which will kick in on June 1. Mathias said the issue of contaminated fish being smuggled in from other states can be checked if the state allows enough catch. “We are getting fish consignments from outside due to shortage of fish in the market. Small boats alone cannot meet the demand,” he said.
But the fisheries department plans to address the situation by relaxing norms for traditional fishers. Ever since the government imposed restrictions, the boats have been anchored off the harbour in Kollam, Ernakulam and Kozhikode. In Kollam, which has the largest number of boats in the state, most of the boats can be found on the Eastern side of the Neendakara bridge. Around 1,000 boats have been anchored along the eight km stretch from Neendakara to Thoppilkadavu on the Ashtamudi lake. There are 4,000 large mechanised boats while small boats operated by traditional fishermen number 40,000.