The prospect of fishers resorting to sporadic pelagic trawling has reared its head again as the 47-day trawling ban off Kerala coast ends Thursday midnight. In pelagic trawling, a cone-shaped net can be towed behind one or two boats to catch fish such as shrimp, tuna and mackerel that grow near the surface of the ocean.
Mechanised boat operators in the organised sector have alleged that freewheeling boat operators may resort to the destructive method of fishing, which even kills juveniles and is banned by the Kerala Marine Fishing Regulation Act 1980.
Fishing industry sources alleged on Thursday that more than a hundred boats appeared prepared for pelagic trawling. However, sources in the Marine Enforcement Wing of the State Fisheries Department said that no such preparations had come to their notice though it would be evident only after the fishing operations resume.
These trawlers use boats with horsepower ranging between 500 and 525 use gigantic nets, which can affect the catch of traditional fishermen returning empty handed from their fishing ventures. Anchovies, sardines and mackerels, which are catches on which traditional fishermen depend are targeted by the large trawlers too.
P.P. Girish Chairman of Boat Owners’ Coordination Committee said that there had been allegations of boats getting ready to venture out on pelagic trawling ventures and called on the State authority to intervene. It is important that fishing industry exercised restraint and discipline so that the entire industry is adversely affected by destructive practices, he said.
Charles George, convenor of Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi, has made an appeal to the traditional fishermen to refrain from these practices and to adhere to the code of fishing that will make fisheries sustainable.
