KOCHI: The All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators’ Association has submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister urging his intervention to reduce the annual monsoon trawling ban period from 61 days to 30.
The Union government had recently issued a notification restoring the trawl ban period for the west coast to 61 days from June 1 to July 31. The association urged the Prime Minister to consider the plight of the fishermen who are struggling to survive due to the depleting marine resources and loss of workdays due to Covid-induced lockdown.
“We got only less than 100 workdays in 2020 due to the lockdown and Covid restrictions imposed by the government. The livelihood of 3.5 lakh people who are employed in the sector has been severely affected. Last year the Union government had reduced the trawl ban period to 47 days considering the plight of fishermen.
However, the Kerala government extended the ban to 52 days,” said general secretary Joseph Xavier Kalapurackal. He said there has been a steep decline in catch due to global warming and climate change. As the country is witnessing a second Covid wave, there are apprehensions of more restrictions and this may affect the livelihood of coastal people.