The men, some 25 of them, quickly fall into position as the mini pick-up swings down a slope, reverses and brakes, its tail-end facing the harbour. With practised ease, they begin the process of unloading the unwieldy cargo — a mid-sized fibreglass fishing boat — down to the sandy strip bordering the water.
At 12 noon Sunday, three more pick-up vans are in queue at the Vizhinjam fisheries harbour with similar loads. “During the next three, three-and-a-half months, we will operate our boats from here,” explained Siluvaiyyan, 31, from Pulluvila, a fishing village 8.5 km south of Vizhinjam.
Traditional craft
The 52-day trawl ban which came into effect on Sunday midnight has little impact on Vizhinjam as only small, traditional fishing craft operate here. But with the sea turning choppy with the onset of the southwest monsoon, Vizhinjam with its breakwater-protected harbour is seen as a haven for fishing boats — one reason why fishermen from nearby fishing villages have already started making a beeline for this spot with their vessels.
“We do this every year. Back home, we can neither beach the boats safely nor take them out for fishing because the sea is extremely rough at this time of the year,” said Siluvaiyyan, who has been engaged in kadalpani, literally sea work, for the past 18 years. From Monday onwards, Siluvaiyyan and his companions will begin commuting between Pulluvila and Vizhinjam to take their boats out.
Overcrowded
But this annual tradition is also mounting pressure on Vizhinjam, according to organisations in the fisheries sector. “During these months, fishing is possible only from Vizhinjam. But the harbour is already overcrowded with the number of boats increasing every year. Yet, there has been no corresponding infrastructure development,” said T. Peter, general secretary, National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF). “Waste disposal, for example, is a big problem here. Having to accommodate more boats during the monsoon also means an increase in pollution,” he said.
The trawl ban in Kerala will be on till July 31. Mr. Peter underscores the need to have a marine enforcement wing deployed in Vizhinjam for the duration of the ban. “Once the trawl ban in Tamil Nadu ends on June 15, boats from that State are likely to enter Kerala waters. This is likely to cause problems,” he said. Taking your boat to Vizhinjam for the rainy season did not automatically guarantee a good catch, said Andrews, a fisherman from Pulluvila who arrived in Vizhinjam with one of the boats on Sunday. “We come every year to Vizhinjam. But this year the catch is bound to be low. That is usually the case when the monsoon gets delayed,” he said.
