The general body meeting of the Kollam District Fishing Boat Operators Association held here on Thursday decided to organise training in deep-sea fishing for its members and employees.
The association is the organisation representing fishing boat owners from the mechanised sector in Kollam.
In a statement, the association said that the training programme will be conducted in association with the Central Institute of Fishing Technology and the Central Marine Fishing Research Institute.
The statement said that deep sea fishing was vital for the future as traditional fish resources have badly depleted due to destructive modes of fishing and opening out the Kerala waters to foreign trawlers.
No promotion
It expressed concern over the fact that though the mechanised fishing sector of the State was a major foreign exchange earner, the State government was not promoting the sector in any manner. But the governments of other littoral States in the country were extending many benefits to the mechanised sector.
The meeting elected Charley Joseph as the president and Peter Mathias as the general secretary of the association. The other office-bearers are Pradeep Martin, treasurer, and M.S. James, patron. The meeting also elected a 36-member executive committee. The association has 210 members who own about 750 mechanised fishing boats based in Kollam.
