Kerala - Kollam   

Mechanised boat owners declare fishing holiday

Staff Reporter

`The monsoon time ban on trawling is a retrograde step'

KOLLAM: Mechanised fishing boat owners here have decided to voluntarily declare an annual fishing holiday during the months of November and December.

The general secretary of the Kollam District Fishing Boat Operators Association, M.S. James, said here on Tuesday that the holiday aims at conserving marine wealth as that is the time when most fish species in the Arabian Sea spawn.

Mr. James alleged that the Government policy of imposing the annual ban on trawling during the monsoon period was a retrograde step. Actually that period is a time when the sea is ripe for harvest.

Loot by foreign trawlers

However, during the ban period, a good number of foreign trawlers enter the Kerala waters and loot the marine wealth. But the Government fails to take any action against them. Such unauthorised trawling has resulted in some countries becoming the world's biggest seafood exporters.

Other countries will not tolerate Indian fishing vessels in their waters and this is clear given the number of Indian fishermen imprisoned abroad, he said. But how many fishermen from abroad are there in our prisons in spite of the wanton encroachment into the Kerala waters for fishing, he asked.

Debt-trap

Mr. James alleged that political parties in the State are playing a hide and seek game when it comes to addressing the trawling ban issue.

He called upon the State Government to impose a total ban on trawling instead of the monsoon time ban alone. That would save many boat-owners who are on the brink of a debt-trap by operating boats under the present set-up, he opined.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous | Engagements |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

Mechanised boat owners declare fishing holiday
Hooch tragedy case: accused acquitted

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu