The All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators’ Association has submitted a 10-point charter of demand to the State government at a time, the association said, when around 14 lakh workers face survival issues for reasons ranging from loss of fishing days to spiralling cost of fuel.
President of the association Peter Mathias said the fishing sector provided jobs to 14 lakh people on the coast. There were around 1,500 boats operating off the Kerala coast. Most of the boats required a minimum of 200 litres of diesel a day. Most of the boats were owned by the fishermen themselves.
There were another 1,200 boats fishing in deep waters. They needed up to 500 litres of diesel a day. Most of the workers on these boats were from outside the State.
The deepest waters were explored by another 1,200 boats. They were out in the sea for 10-12 days. Most of them were manned by migrant workers. These boats needed about 600 litres of fuel a day.
The small boats required around 40,000 litres of diesel a year, medium-sized vessels required around one lakh litres and large boats 1,35,000 litres of fuel. The small boats spent ₹38 lakh a year on fuel, medium-sized ones ₹97 lakh and larger ones ₹1.30 crore a year.
Besides, boat owners also had to shell out money for registration and renewal fees, tax on fuel and fishing gear. These boats were often at the receiving end of harsh treatment from the authorities concerned, claimed the boat operators’ association.
Under these circumstances, the boat operators had demanded that the taxes be made uniform across the State as in other States as fishing was a seasonal activity. They also demanded that heavily fining boats for not renewing licences be stopped as the current season was not remunerative; the renewal of licences be fixed for a time during the annual trawl ban; the authorities avoid penalising the boats in the name of fishing juveniles; steps be taken to renew the licence of boats that were 12 and 15 years old; insurance cover be assured for the sector and that life saving equipment be made available to the fish workers free of cost.
Joseph Xavier Kalapurackal, general secretary of the association, said that the last fishing season was extremely unrewarding as the entire season was confined to about 80-85 days. These circumstances should be taken into consideration when the government took action against the boat operators, he said.