Fishing operations will start on August 7 with stringent COVID-19 protocol given the spike in cases along the coast.
Although the 52-day trawling ban ended on the midnight of July 31, fishers are allowed to go to sea only from Friday in view of weather warnings.
As per Fisheries Department guidelines, fishing and marketing-related activities in harbours will be managed by harbour management societies. People’s committees, with a Matsya Bhavan officer as convener, have been formed for the fish-landing centres and other jetties where the catch will be offloaded. Boats will be allowed to go out on alternate days. Those with registration numbers ending in odd numbers could operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and those with registration numbers ending in even numbers, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
Boats from other States and crew have been banned from entering the harbours and fishing-landing centres in Kerala. Boats leaving the Kerala shores are banned from visiting harbours/landing centres elsewhere. Fishing crew from other States currently in Kerala should be quarantined and tested and they should be allowed on board on production of a COVID-19-negative certificate.
A maximum of five men will be allowed in each of the two 32-ft boats that use boat seine nets. In the case of shore-seine fishing, a maximum of 12 people will be allowed on either end of the net. The crew should maintain physical distancing and use sanitiser and face masks.
Between three and seven boats will be allowed inside the harbour at a time to avoid crowding. Fisheries auctions stand banned. The price will be fixed by the harbour management societies and people’s committees. Matsyafed will be responsible for the marketing aspects. Entry of trucks to the harbours for the transportation of catch will be regulated with passes.
