As part of the preparatory measures in place to prevent illegal fishing during the trawling ban period, the Fisheries Department has opened a round-the-clock control room at its fisheries station at Beypore (Phone: 0495-2414074). Besides, maritime patrol will begin on June 10.
To coordinate rescue operations during the trawling ban period from June 9, as many as 13 guards will be deployed to cover vulnerable coastal areas. They will be selected on the basis of their experience in rescue operations and training. According to officials, the selection procedure will be the same as in previous years.
Fishing boats from other States will have to leave the Kerala coast by May 31. There are around 600 such boats as per figures available with the Fisheries Department. The marine enforcement squad of the department will keep an eye on all suspicious fishing activities.
Surveillance
In Kozhikode district, there are 1,222 mechanised fishing boats and 4,601 boats fitted with outboard engines. There are also 200 country boats with Fisheries Department registration. Though country boats can venture into the sea, illegal practices such as pair trawling and fishing using banned materials will be viewed seriously during the ban period. Harbours and fish landing centres will be brought under the close surveillance of marine enforcement squads and the Coastal Police.
In view of the trawling ban, various fishermen’s organisations have called upon the State government to speed up processing of possible relief aids. They claimed that free ration and financial aid through various welfare schemes reached the needy weeks after the enforcement of the trawling ban.
A leader of a prominent fishermen’s association said the recent regulations introduced in the name of the COVID-19 protocol at harbours and fish landing centres had caused huge revenue loss and trouble for native fishers. Many of them will become temporarily jobless once the trawling ban is in force. Therefore, they should be extended better assistance to surmount the crisis, he added.
