The annual fishing ban Goa kicked in from June 1 onwards, but this fishing season has been as rough as the agitated waters of the Mandovi on a cyclonic night. With a shortage of manpower, unfavourable weather conditions, rising fuel prices, market lockdowns and the risk of contracting Covid-19, the fisheries industry was riddled with a plethora of problems in 2020-21. “We have faced a loss of over 25% this season. There was a loss incurred due to markets locking down, exports being suspended and rising fuel and labour costs. We can only hope that the second wave subsides before the season resumes (from August 1 onwards), and we return to normalcy,” said Harshad Dhond, president of All Goa Purse Seiners Boat Owners’ Association. Boat operators in Goa largely depend on migrant workers from other states to carry out fishing operations. This labour force is not only engaged in fish catch, but also in loading and unloading edible piscine creatures onto trucks, cleanliness of the vessels and dock area, besides some of them acting as cooks aboard the boats when they must leave on a long haul. “Some boat owners spent up to Rs 15,000 each to bring manpower back from their native states. There was also a demand for a hike in salaries by some of the labourers.
Compared to Rs 8,000 per month which was paid earlier, this time we paid Rs 10,000 to 12,000 per month,” said Savio D’Silva, president of the Cutbona Boat Owners’ Association. The first two months of the season – August and September 2020 – were not very fruitful as a result. It was only by October that the fisheries industry seemed to be fully operational. However, the onset of the second wave in March this year turned things around yet again. Moreover, the alert for Cyclone Tauktae sent apprehensive workers scampering back to their hometowns in the second week of May itself, who otherwise would leave Goa only after May 31 – when the season officially ends. “Even though railways are operational now, there is a lot of uncertainty due to which we had to take the responsibility of sending workers back. Majority of the Jharkhand workers have left while those from Karnataka, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and a few from Andhra Pradesh are leaving soon,” a boat owner who has paid for the bus transit of his workers, said. Escalating fuel prices proved to be yet another dent in their finances. Currently, trawler owners are paying Rs 86 per litre – which until a year ago – was about Rs 60 per litre. Though there is a fuel VAT reimbursement scheme that boat operators usually avail of, claims of 2019-20 are yet to be granted by the fisheries department, D’Silva said. “There is little to no help from the government to help the fishing industry.
They must at least decrease fuel prices. Else, we may be forced to shut our trawlers,” he added. “Some boat owners let only a few of their boats operate because they didn’t have enough money to fill their vessels,” a boat operator from Malim jetty said. With vessels, both small and large, spending lesser time at sea, one would assume that this may have proved to be a blessing for the marine species by way of allowing more time to facilitate breeding. Observations made by fisherfolk, however, say otherwise. “Though it is only in December and January that we were able to operate full-fledged, the catch through the rest of the months was bleak,” D’Silva said. The fish markets in Goa were temporarily shut a few times owing to Covid-related restrictions. “We either had to lower the prices of our fish and sell it vendors or export the catch to Kerala markets,” said Dhond. When markets in Kerala also were forced shut due to Covid lockdowns, the fishermen had no choice but to endure the loss. “When there is no demand, we have no choice but to stop supply altogether,” Dhond said.
2021 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.