Hundreds of mechanised fishing boats in the district stayed on shore on Thursday, the first day of the State-wide indefinite strike to protest against the high price of diesel and the restrictions on catching juvenile fish.
All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators’ Association leaders said the ever increasing price of diesel and the government’s refusal to subsidise diesel were forcing many boat owners to quit fishing. The Minimum Legal Size (MLS), determined on the basis of the recommendations by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, that restrained fishers from catching juveniles below a certain size, was impracticable, they claimed.
“If we continue with the indefinite strike, it will cause huge loss to the government in the form of diesel tax. A boat uses around 3,000 litres of diesel for a multi-day fishing trip and the government gets ₹32 as tax per litre,” Karichal Preman, vice president, All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators’ Association, told The Hindu . “And, if the strikes goes on, shortage of fish in the market will shoot up fish prices.”
The boat owners and their families staged a demonstration at Beypore, an important fishing harbour in north Kerala and took out a march to the Fisheries Department office at West Hill to press for their demands. The premises of the Puthiyappa harbour too witnessed protest meets.
Mr. Preman alleged that the Fisheries Department was imposing hefty fine on boat owners in the name of violating MLS rules even as there were no other feasible options available for them to avoid the netting of juvenile fishes. “Last week, a boat owner from Beypore was imposed a fine of ₹95,000 in the name of violating the MLS. If this is the situation in the case of unintentional violations, no boat owners would be able to survive in the sector,” he said.
At the regional protests on the premises of various harbours on Thursday, large number of fish workers too came out in support of the boat owners stating that the tightened rules were posing a threat to their own livelihood. M.K. Raghavan, MP, inaugurated the district-level protest held in front of the Fisheries office at West Hill. Araya Samajams and Mahallu Committees too stepped in with their support to the indefinite stir urging the government to find a quick solution.
“At Beypore, almost all the mechanised boats are now part of the strike and more boats will join if the government is not coming out with a favourable decision,” said C. Musthafa, a fishing boat owner and the leader of the local boat owners’ association in Beypore. He also claimed that traditional fishermen too were in support of their cause as the ‘unfriendly’ rules were choking off their income as well.