If the waters off the Kollam coast had been giving abundant fish to the traditional fishermen here, the sea has now become barren for them. While more than 400 traditional vessels used to arrive at the Vaddy auction hall location of the Tangasseri fishing harbour with fish every morning, now hardly 50 arrive.
Fishermen said that while catch was poor on the one hand, shortage of kerosene was another reason. Though the monthly subsidised allocation of 129 litres of kerosene for last month was released quite late, that too after much protest, even that kerosene had not reached the fishermen dependent on it. They still had to depend on the black market paying between Rs. 80 to Rs. 100 per litre.
With the sea turning barren, it is not economically viable to go fishing using the kerosene bought at such high rates. Pelagic fishing, which the majority of the Vaddy-Tangasseri based fishermen practice, has been badly hit. The sea had become devoid of even sardines, said fisherman Andrews.
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H. Basilal, district president of the Centre for Indian Trade Unions-affiliated Matsya Thozhilali Union, said that fishermen using kerosene from the black market were losing more than Rs.3,000 in each trip. With such high prices, they were unable to purchase more kerosene sufficient to keep them fishing for longer hours.
Most vessels returned with just a basket full of fish that fetched nothing more than Rs.800 at the auction hall, he said. Even mackerels which used to be abundantly available during this part of the year were hardly seen. The Vaddy auction hall premises which used to be bustling with activity during the early morning hours was now wearing a deserted look because of the situation, Mr. Basilal said.
If the fishermen had got their subsidised allocation of kerosene they would have been able to spend more time fishing, he said. At the same time fishermen based at Moothakara in the city who practiced hook and line fishing were getting some good catch. These fishermen were mostly migrants from Tamil Nadu-based fishing hamlets well-versed in hook-and-line fishing.
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But the Vaddy-Tangasseri based fishermen were not adept in that skill. The sea turning barren for them had also badly hit the fish vendors, especially women, Mr. Basilal said. He said that there was no indication so far on when the subsidised kerosene allocation for the month of May would be released.
They have to purchase kerosene from black market
‘Even getting sardines from sea is difficult now’