Fishing activities along Kerala shores will be allowed to resume from August 5 subject to stringent conditions, given the worsened COVID-19 scenario in the State.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting convened by Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma on Thursday as the 2020 edition of the monsoon season trawling ban is ending on July 31 midnight.
For the time being, boats and crew from neighbouring States will not be allowed to enter Kerala harbours/fish landing centres or participate in fisheries-related activities in view of the COVID-19 situation.
Formal orders in this regard are expected to be out on Friday.
Fishermen from the State who venture out to sea from August 5 will have to adhere to stringent disease containment protocols, given the extent of spread of COVID-19 in the coastal areas. Boats will be allowed out to sea on alternate days under an odd-even scheme based on their registration numbers. Physical distancing norms and use of sanitiser and face masks will be strictly enforced. The crew strength in the boats also will be regulated.
By August 5, management committees will be formed in all fish landing centres and fisheries harbours. The committees will be responsible for the fixation of price.
Strict regulations will be in place for the transportation of the catch from the coastal areas, especially those that are within COVID-19 containment zones. Fish unloaded at the landing centres within containment zones cannot be sold outside the zones. The ban on the auctioning of the catch will continue. From the bigger harbours, the catch will be transported elsewhere in disinfected trucks under the supervision of Matsyafed.
Trade unions in the fisheries sector and representatives of boat owners attended the meeting. The annual trawling ban had come into effect in Kerala on the midnight of June 9
