The All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators’ Association will hold a series of protests across the State to highlight what it calls persecution and discriminatory action” by the State Fisheries Department. Our demand is that the State must consider the fishing community across India as one, said Joseph Xavier Kalapurakal, president of the association, here on Saturday. The grievance is that while fishers in other States are not subjected to heavy licence and registration fee, Kerala boat owners end up paying heavily. Kerala fishers are also subjected to restrictions that are not applied to fishers from other States. Mr. Kalapurakal said that while fishers from other States engaged in juvenile fishing, Kerala fishers were punished even if they were within the law ruling catching juveniles. He said the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) recommended that only fishing boats with more than 50% juvenile catch should be punished. However, indiscriminate action was being taken by the Fisheries Department, he said. He said that boats from neighbouring States such as Tamil Nadu engaged in juvenile fishing and took their catch out of Kerala to be sold to fish meal factories. However, a department official said that it was not engaged in persecuting local boat owners and that action was being taken only against those flouting the rules. The State government has issued a notification specifying the legal size of some of the commercially important species to be caught and marketed. The official said that juvenile catch was comparatively low now given the lean fishing season but the department was on vigil against the practice. The boat owners will march to the office of the Deputy Director of Fisheries in Kozhikode on April 2 to highlight their grievances. Protest march will be taken to offices in Kannur, Kochi and Kollam on the following days, said Mr. Kalapurakal.