Fishermen in some of the hamlets in Nagapattinam who had earlier decided against venturing into the sea until the end of the lockdown period have now decided to resume fishing to cater to local requirements and self-consumption.
The village committees have taken up the responsibility of regulating the sale of fish to local traders in known circles.
The fishermen are particular about not letting any outsider come to purchase the catches.
Fishermen in Akkaraipettai and Keechankuppam have plans to set sail on Thursday night.
As the annual fishing ban took effect on April 15, only motorised country boats have been permitted for fishing operations for the two-month period.
The fishermen are expected to return to the shores before the specified time in the morning hours, and make sure that there was no crowding when the sale was effected.
The fishermen were expected to take the catches to their hamlets, and avoid going to the fishing harbour for sale.
"Fishermen, by and large, have been extending full cooperation to the government for containment of COVID-19 virus. Fishermen families have even given up eating fish during the containment period. We are very particular about making sure that there is no community transmission of the virus,” Rajendran Nattar, a representative of the fishing community in Akkaraipettai said.
“The government has already provided the ₹1,000 relief per family for the lockdown period. But, the amount was hardly sufficient. Our only concern is whether the government will be transferring the fishing ban period allowance of ₹ 5,000 per fisherman in time,” Mr. Rajendran said.
Joint Director of Fisheries, Nagapattinam district, Amal Raj Xavier, said the department has already initiated the process of transferring the allowance to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
