The trawling ban, which was lifted a week ago, is yet to bring in any large landings for most vessels which had gone for multi-day fishing. While, the first two days saw many boats returning with catches of threadfin breams, shrimps, tunas, the landing prices have dampened the spirit of many fishermen. “Due to Covid, there is no major business at the landing centres. Middlemen are buying in bulk. All small fish are going to fishmeal companies and the rest are going to market. They are buying at low amounts and selling it at high rates in the market,” said Anthony Kurishinkal, a fisherman. He said there were hardly any sardines in the landings. “We got mackerels which were sold at Rs 150-200 in the market, but were brought from fishermen at Rs 40,” he added. Most fishermen say that the auction system which was proposed by the state government last year is not functioning. There must have been less than 20 fishing days till August. With frequent weather warnings and advisories against fishing boats venturing into sea on many days, the community has been seeking a more localized weather system which would give specific warnings instead of generalized ones.
“The sector is completely down and since the catch is poor, we are unable to manage the financial burden of the vessels. Also, there is no good catch. Most of the mackerels that were caught were juveniles or equivalent. Normally, by this time, we get full adult fish,” said Joseph Xavier Kalapurackal, president, all Kerala boat operators’ association. Organizations like Kerala Swatantra Matsya Thozhilali Union have put proposals like boats taking turns to go into the sea so that everybody gets an income. The government had earlier proposed an auction system that fixed the rate of the fish based on the existing market price of the day or week. This had worked out well in the fish landing centres in Ernakulam which were monitored by a joint team of Matsyafed officials, fisheries department and harbour management committee. But it has also proved futile with allegations that the middlemen were pushing boats to go into sea and most of this was being directed to fishmeal companies rather than to the markets which are now flooded with fish brought from other states.
2021 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.