KOCHI: High diesel prices, low catch and alleged harassment by fisheries officers are forcing trawler boats to remain moored at fishing harbours in Kerala.
According to fishing boat owners, deep sea fishing has become unviable due to the high operating cost and depleting marine resources. This has led to around 60 per cent of fishing boats in the state remaining idle for the past one month.
"The fish in the Kerala coast has migrated to northern regions like Gujarat coast and the Oman sea. The traditional fishing grounds have changed and we have to travel up to the Goa coast to get a good catch. A fishing vessel needs 600 litres of diesel for a single-day operation. A trip to the Goa coast will take at least 10 days and we cannot afford to purchase 6,000 litres of diesel for one expedition. Most boat owners are caught in debt traps and we need the government’s support to survive," said All-Kerala Fishing Boat Operators Association general secretary Joseph Xavier Kalapurackal.
Meanwhile, a drive launched by the fisheries department to impound fishing boats with no renewed licence has added to the woes of the boat owners. "The department has impounded five boats over the past week for not renewing the licence and in the name of juvenile fishing. The chief secretary had assured us that action will be taken only if the content of juvenile fish is more than 40 per cent. But the officers are impounding boats even if the content is low," said PP Gireesh, chairman of the committee for protection of Munambam-Vypeen fishing zone.
"Two days ago, a fine of Rs 2.5 lakh was imposed on a boat and its catch worth Rs 8 lakh was auctioned. There is corruption in even the auctioning of fish. The sector is in deep distress," he said.
Fishing boat owners are urging the government to reduce the tax on diesel to support the sector. "Tamil Nadu has announced a waiver of Rs 8,000 on 1,000 litres of diesel for fishing boats, while Karnataka has waived the tax by Rs 9,000. The licence fee in the neighbouring states is Rs 1,000, but Kerala collects Rs 26,000. If the government continues the apathy, the fishing sector will migrate to neighbouring states," said Joseph Xavier.
However, fisheries department officers said the drive was launched after giving enough time for fishing boats to pay the licence fee. "We admit the sector is in distress. We gave them enough time to pay the fees. The drive against catching juvenile fish was launched as indiscriminate fishing practices have led to depletion of marine resources. If they want a waiver in the fee, the boat owners have to approach government. We cannot allow fishing boats to operate without licence," said Saju MS, Joint Director of Fisheries, Central Zone.
Seafood exporters turn to Andhra Pradesh
The non-availability of fish in Kerala has forced the seafood exporters to source fish from farms in Andhra Pradesh. "There is a scarcity of wild-caught fish in Kerala. The landing of shrimp, squid and cuttle fish has declined drastically. We are sourcing fish from aquaculture firms in Andhra. The export market is also struggling to recover from the impact of COVID," said Alex K Ninan, Kerala region president, Seafood Exporters Association of India.
According to sources, China's hostile approach has also adversely affected the crisis faced by exporters. China, which has been a major market for seafood products from Kerala for decades, has blacklisted 55 state firms alleging COVID contaminations of cartons. A few seafood export firms in Kerala have thus initiated steps to establish processing units in Andhra.