Owners of around a hundred traditional small boats and 500 larger traditional vessels have said they will begin a boycott of the Kalamukku fish landing centre as it reportedly lacked facilities and had space constraints. N.A. Jain, secretary of the independent fishers’ union Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedhi, said though there was a roof over the fish landing centre, the demand for a proper road to access it and to increase the space available had not been considered so far.
He said fishers’ unions had been calling for proper facilities to help fish landing operations as well as auction and transport of the catch over the last decade, but the demands had fallen on deaf ears.
Mr. Jain said the waters near the centre needed to be dredged to help larger traditional boats reach the harbour. Losses of fishing equipment were also reported at the harbour due to a lack of security in the area. The lack of a ramp from the fishing boats to the centre had caused a large number of accidents in the past, he added.
Charles George of the Aikya Vedhi said the fishers had demanded the setting up of a 100-metre-long and 400-metre-wide harbour with facilities for the fish landing centre. He said the government could acquire sufficient land for building the facilities to support traditional fishers. The annual trawling ban would end on July 31 and building the facilities for traditional boats would help fishers who were facing a fish drought-like situation, he said.