An indefinite strike recently launched by the All India Fish Meal Oil Manufacturers and Merchants Association in protest against high GST on the fish meal units has hit hundreds of fishing boat owners and fishermen in the district. Fishers’ union leaders fear that the strike would soon cause the decaying of several tonnes of fish at various harbours in the absence of proper storage facilities. K. Rajan, State vice-president of Matsyathozhilali Congress, said no government authorities had taken steps to end the nationwide strike. In Kozhikode district, the fishermen and trawling boat owners from Puthiyappa harbour were the worst hit by the strike, he said. Mr. Rajan said the move of the Union government to enforce GST rules on the fish meal unit would create unfavourable impact on the fishing sector. It is learnt that even small-scale traders will have to suffer the impact of such a decision if implemented without holding any discussions with the State governments and organisations working in the sector, he said. Irfan Habeeb, a fishermen organisation leader from Vellayil harbour, said the boat owners and fishers were in a situation to clear the already caught stock to fertilizer companies as there were no other alternatives in front of them with the ongoing strike of the oil manufacturing companies in the sector. Fishers at Puthiyappa harbour will have to sell fish stocks at a reduced rate to the fertilizer companies till the end of the strike, he pointed out. The leaders also said the absence of proper storage facilities at the harbours were the main hurdle for the fishers and boat owners to meet such unexpected challenges. Though large-scale storage facility in harbours was one of the frequently made promises by the government, no action was taken in that regard, they said.
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