The Fisheries department has begun direct procurement of fish, including the Varapuzha variety of pearlspot (karimeen), from fish workers in the Konkani-speaking Kudumbi community in Varapuzha and neighbouring areas. Members of the community are known for their unique way of fishing.
The move has been initiated under the commercial MIMI Fish initiative, which is part of the government’s Parivarthanam (transformation) project, one of the objectives of which is to free traditional fish workers from exploitation by middlemen.
The programme also looks at lifting the living standards of traditional fish workers and sourcing fresh fish, which will reach consumers directly.
MIMI Fish, which is also a fish ordering application, was launched in August last year as a retail venture with online home delivery in association with the Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation. This was after the government floated Parivarthanam in November 2020 as a pioneering eco-sustainable programme for the development of the fishing community, said Parivarthanam project chief operating officer Roy V. Nagendran.
The Kudumbi community settled in Kerala three centuries ago, having migrated from Goa and other parts of the Konkan coast during 1729-58. Initially farmers, they took up fishing in inland waters as a means of livelihood.
Mr. Nagendran said the Kudumbi community practised a unique way of fishing in which tender coconut leaves are strung on ropes like hanging decorations, which are then pulled through water. These white leaves scare the fish to take refuge underwater and then are caught by bare hands by fishers. The Parivarthanam project is also an attempt to preserve this unique way of fishing, he added.
Kudumbis form a large community in Varapuzha panchayat and have been involved in fishing in inland waters off Varapuzha, Kadamakkudy, Ezhikkara, Kottuvally, Cheranalloor, and Mulavukad, said V.P. Denny, who has been involved in helping fishers and is a district committee member of the CITU.
