THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government’s fisheries policy aims at equipping traditional fishermen for deep-sea fishing. They will be made owners of deep-sea fishing boats, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said. Responding to Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala’s allegations, the CM said that his government had not given sanction to any project that violates its fisheries policy which is against allowing foreign or native corporates for deep-sea fishing along the Kerala coast.
“This stand has been made clear in the fisheries policy. The LDF government will not deviate from it,” he said. The permission for deep fishing by foreign or native corporates using trawlers is to be given by the Union government, CM said. “Following opposition by the Kerala Government and fishermen organisations, the Central government had to state in its fisheries policy for 2017 that the sanction granted to foreign and native corporates would be cancelled.
This shows the Kerala Government’s stand on deep-sea fishing,” he said. The CM said the state’s policy was to restrict mechanised fishing boats on the state’s coastline. But traditional fishermen will be given permission to replace their old boats, he said. False camp-aigns to turn fishermen against the government will not succeed, he added.