THOOTHUKUDI: Fishermen from seven coastal hamlets have sought the intervention of the district administration to ban the illegal practice of using compressors and weapons to fish squids. Even though a complaint was lodged with the assistant director of fisheries, there was no action, they said.
The members of Thooya Aavi Nattupadagu Meenavar Sangam, which includes fishers from Vembar, Periyasamypuram, Keela Vaippar, Tharuvaikulam, and Mottakopuram, have sought action against the illegal practice as it is eating into their livelihood, besides damaging the marine ecosystem.
Claiming that they are fishing squids (kanava) using traditional methods like anglers and bait, the fishers said that conch divers who use air supply from compressors go under the sea to hunt the squids and octopus that are hiding in coral reefs. They damage the reefs, which are an ecologically sensitive component of the Gulf of Mannar Marine biosphere reserve, using rods and weapons. They remain underwater for hours to hunt squids.
Virgin said that squids scrawling on the seabed move to the coral reefs when they breed. "We fish outside the 'par' called the coral reef so as not to disturb the breeding squids. However, the underwater hunters kill them using rods," he said.
The coral reefs are breeding grounds for a multitude of species. Damaging it will have a cascading impact on the environment and the marine ecosystem, the fishermen said.
They manage to fish more than 100 kg of squids in a day, while the traditional fishermen can catch only a few. "We used to earn around Rs 500 to Rs 700 per day by catching squids. However, after the arrival of these illegal fishers, the traditional kanava fishermen could not even earn Rs 50 to Rs 100," said Virgin.
Even though the assistant director of fisheries issued a notice to illegal fishermen not to catch squids, they are undeterred. Hence, the district administration must intervene to cease them from practising illegal fishing, they added.