KARWAR: Fishermen in Uttara Kannada are left in the lurch as they are unable to get a good catch in the Arabian Sea for the past two weeks. Nearly 90 per cent of purse seine fishing boats have stopped fishing and have been anchored at Karwar port for the last two weeks.
Like last year, fishermen this year too have been facing fish drought in February. Fishing by most of the mechanised boats has stopped even before the end of the season, which is May. As a result, the district has been witnessing increase in prices of most varieties of fish owing to the shortage in arrival of fish in the markets. Fishermen leader Raju Tandel said that they have been facing fish drought for the past two years, especially in February.
“Purse seine boat fishermen stop venturing into the sea in February as they know that they won’t get a good catch. To send a boat into the sea for fishing, an investment of at least Rs 1 lakh is needed per trip. If they can’t catch fish worth Rs 1 lakh, boat owners will face a huge loss,” he said. Experts say an increase in fishing boats venturing into a limited fishing area and unscientific fishing practices by a few are affecting the other fishermen and consumers, who have to pay more now.