KOCHI: Convinced of the ecological benefits of using square mesh codends in trawl nets, more and more fishers are coming forward to shift to the new fishing method that ensures sustainability.
At an awareness programme organised at Munambam here by the Network for Fish Quality Management and Sustainable Fishing (NETFISH), under the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), many fisherfolk and boat operators expressed willingness to use trawl nets with square mesh codend. The modified codend, originally developed by the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology and produced at the Matsyafed net factory, Ernakulam, was displayed at the programme. MPEDA Joint Director K N Vimalkumar was the chief guest at the event.
Square mesh codend allows juvenile fish, squid, scuttle fish and other small marine organisms to escape the net, thereby reducing by-catch and making it more sustainable than the conventional diamond shaped cod ends.
“The square mesh cod end provides a better alternative,” said Boat Owners Coordination Committee, Munambam, chairman P P Girish.
“Many fishermen and boat operators have come forward to adopt the new codend. We have requested the authorities to provide square mesh codend free of cost so that more fishers would come forward,” he said.