KOCHI: “It has been a week since we went to sea. The Covid restrictions and weather warnings have forced us to live in penury. We are unable to even pay interest for the loans we took to purchase boats and fishing gear. Besides, the prices of fish have declined and our livelihood is in danger,” lamented Liju, a fisherman in Chellanam.
Traditional fishermen and mechanised boat workers blame weather forecasters for issuing a week-long rough sea warning in view of Cyclone Burevi. Many of the youths in Chellanam, who used to work as masons and construction labourers, have returned to their traditional occupation as all other work has been stalled. “This has led to an increase in the number of fishermen, causing a drop in the earnings per head. Now, we barely make `500 a day,” said Liju.
“Cyclone Burevi did not even enter the Arabian Sea. Since Ockhi, the Met department has been issuing blanket warnings, disrupting fishing activities across the state, even for minor weather events. We need more accurate weather forecasting,” said Joseph Xavier Kalapurackal, general secretary, All-Kerala Fishing Boat Operators’ Association (AKFBOA).
‘Suffered losses worth L8,000 crore’
Fishing activities were banned in April and restricted in May. “We were planning to resume fishing on August 1 after the two-month trawl ban when the weather forecasters banned fishing for 13 days in the name of the cyclone. After that, we were allowed to venture into sea only on alternate days. We have lost 59 work days since August 1 and have suffered losses worth `8,000 crore,” he said.
According to Kerala Traditional Fishermen Association president P V Janardhanan, most fishermen families are surviving on the food kit provided by the government. “A few fishermen at Malippuram and Chappa villages were slapped fines of `5,000 and `10,000 for violating the weather warning. They were forced to go for fishing due to grinding poverty and were mercilessly fined by the fisheries department. What should we do?” asked P B Dayanandan, secretary of the organisation.Meanwhile, AKFBOA has submitted a memorandum to the chief minister seeking to waive licence fee for the year in view of the crisis.