With hardly a week left for the annual monsoon trawling ban to begin, the district administration has taken all steps to enforce the ban and ensure that there are no violations.
On July 8 and 9, announcements will be made in the sea till afternoon and the same will be repeated in the coast during noon hours. On June 9 midnight, the spans of Neendakara bridge will be chained and the boats will be moved to the eastern part of the bridge.
The service of the sea rescue squad will be made available 24 hours and provisions will be made for the crafts in traditional sector to venture out into the sea. Inboard boats and other small crafts can refuel from the Matsyafed bunk near the Saktikulangara bridge. Five private bunks and three Matsyafed bunks will be functional during the period. The district administration will also ensure police surveillance at all harbours till the ban ends. The police department has informed that more squads will be deployed during the period if necessary.
Arrangements will be made to control trawling boats at Azheekal with the help of marine enforcement and more facilities will be provided at the harbour in coordination with the harbour engineering department.
Biometric cards
All the fishermen has been instructed to collect biometric cards from the Kerala Fishermen’s Welfare Fund Board (KFWFB) office. The Fisheries Department will also be monitoring various parts of Ashtamudi Lake to stop illegal fishing using stake nets and Chinese nets. Use of fishing net with small mesh size will not be allowed.
Meanwhile, Kerala Swatantra Matsyathozhilali Federation has made a demand that all boats with engines above 9 HP should be banned during the period.
Since monsoon is the spawning season of many fish species, they want to restrict boats with engines of high horsepower using ring seine nets. They allege that these boats engage in juvenile fishing, posing a threat to fishermen in traditional sector. The 52-day ban ends on July 31.
