Though the fisheries sector is said to have opened some time ago after the lockdown was lifted in harbours and landing centres, the stakeholders are yet to get a feel of the vibrant fish market. Fishermen are reeling under severe crisis with lockdown, fuel price hike, weather warnings and poor landings. While traditional boats could go fishing for nearly 130 days this year from January, the larger boats have only started going since August. Unlike in other districts, Kochi has been strictly following the alternate day principle for larger boats to ensure sustainability and a fair catch for all. The Kerala sardines are still missing at the landings. Several fishermen said that they have been getting juveniles in their nets. Officials said that while they could sympathize with the fishing community, they have been booking cases against landings which are below the fixed minimum legal size (MLS). “We know that some of our counterparts are catching and selling it in other states’ harbours. Much of the catch is going to the fishmeal industry,” said a fisherman.
“Fuel prices of both diesel and kerosene have also affected the entire sector, especially the traditional sector. The only good news in all these days is that we are getting better prices when compared to earlier days,” said Anthony Kurishinkal, a fisherman at Chellanam. Most boat owners say that they cannot afford 10 to 15-day fishing operations. “We will need at least 3,000 litres of diesel, food and ration for 20 plus workers, wages etc. Even if we set off, we have no guarantee of a good catch. All we are getting is marine shrimps,” said P P Gireesh of trawl net boat operators’ association. “For the last few days, there have been better landings. Many systems have to be put in place before implementing the auctioning system, which has been affected due to Covid. Right now, high-value fishes for export are being sold at fair prices for fishermen,” said fisheries joint director Saju M S. The government should have discussions with them before implementing the auction and management bill, said Charle George, state president of Kerala matsya thozhilali union.
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