Munambam Fishers to go Eco-friendly

KOCHI:  Boat operators at the Munambam fishing harbour, one of the major fishing ports in the State, have expressed willingness to shift to ‘square mesh codends’ from the traditional diamond mesh codends.

At a function organised by the Network for Fish Quality Management and Sustainable Fishing (NETFISH) on Wednesday, representatives of fishing boat operators came forward to shift to sustainable fishing practices.

Buoyed by the positive response from the fisherfolk and their readiness to use square mesh codends, which is known to reduce bycatch and juvenile fishing, NETFISH CEO Dr Joice V Thomas said the model fishing harbour at Munambam could set a new model by implementing sustainable fishing practices.

On the occasion, MPEDA joint director K N Vimalkumar congratulated fishermen who came forward to popularise square mesh codend. At the function, Department of Fisheries joint director K J Prasanna Kumar distributed ten square mesh codends to fishing boat operators. Matsyafed net factory general manager M K Sambasivan offered to supply square mesh codends to fishermen through the Vyasa Store network of Matsyafed.