After the restrictions on fishing were lifted, fisherfolk from Chombala harbour had ventured into sea with high hopes of landing a good catch securing a good price for their hard labour. The fisherfolk landed a catch of nearly 1000-tons of sardine fish. However, on reaching the shore there was no one to buy the fish forcing the fisherfolk to dump the fish back in the sea. The boat owners and fisherfolk were put to such a crisis by the ongoing protest in All India Fish meal and Oil Manufactures Association. Usually, tons of fish are transported to industrial units in Goa and Karnataka. But But due to the strike, nobody came to buy the fish on Saturday. Small fish like sardine have no demand in other markets. Unlike earlier times, coastal areas have no facility to dry and store the excess fish or facility to make fertiliser from the fish. A box of sardine used to be sold for Rs 1,200. But, the price had gone down to Rs 400 per box by Saturday noon. Even then, the buyers didn’t buy the fish forcing the fisherfolk to dump it back into sea. There were objections from various sides over catching juvenile fish only to dump them back into sea. The fish being caught now are likely to lay eggs in a few days. So catching them in huge quantities at this time could lead to extinction. The Vadakara Taluk Committee of Fishermen’s Congress demanded the government’s intervention into the present crisis faced by fisherfolk.
Mathrubhumi 2019