The Kerala Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi, a trade union of fishermen, has appealed to the government to step in to avert possible conflict between groups of fishermen over juvenile fishing by a lobby comprising some boat owners and fish vendors.
Juvenile fishing
Aikya Vedi president Charles George alleged in a statement here that there was a lobby engaged in juvenile fishing. The juveniles were being sold to fish meal factories, he said and appealed to the fishermen’s community to desist from catching small fishes as it would destroy the livelihood of thousands of people on the coastal areas.
There was a situation in which fishermen tended to come to conflict with each other over the issue. There was also a conspiracy, the Aikya Vedi alleged, to drive a wedge between people from different States over the issue of juvenile fishing.
Crisis situation
The issue has surfaced at a time when the fisheries sector in the State is going through a difficult phase. Fish landings on Kerala coast has come down to 4.8 lakh tonnes from 8.39 lakh tonnes. The drop in the catch of oil sardines, one of the key resources, has been even more drastic. Sardine catch has fallen to 68,000 tonnes from 3.9 lakh tonnes. Over a lakh fishermen who venture out into the sea depend on oil sardines for livelihood, he added.
The traditional fishermen have been the worst hit by the situation. Many are on the verge of suicide because of the indebtedness and the government is still turning a deaf ear to the appeal for a financial package for the fishermen suffering setbacks. The crisis in the sector is signified by the fact that the number of boats engaged in sardine catch has come down from 594 to 450 over the recent years.
The crisis is worsened by a group of trawl boats, which are engaged in catching juveniles of sardines, mackerels, etc., using fishing nets that have been banned by the government. Besides, these boats are not allowed to engage in pelagic trawling.
