Fishing boat owners in Kozhikode district have decided to restrict the engagement of migrant fishers in their boats in the wake of the COVID-19 threat. Labourers who had left for their home States during the trawling ban period will be asked to rejoin only after September 30.
Harbour development committees have welcomed the decision. However, migrant fishers who had already come back to the district and cleared all the mandatory health check-ups related to COVID-19 will be allowed to resume their work once the existing regulations are eased.
A fishing boat owner from Beypore said the money being spent by boat owners for meeting temporary stay and food expenses of migrant workers put in room quarantine too forced boat owners to take the new decision. “The sector is going through an unexpected financial crisis and we are now struggling to cope with the challenge,” he said.
Leaders of fishermen associations also expressed concern over the delay in resuming fishing activities even after the trawling ban. They pointed out that the livelihood of about 28,000 fishers was at stake with the continuing regulations in the sector.
