The plan to go in for deep sea fishing needs a reality check (“Is “deep sea fishing” the silver bullet?”, October 11). Who will supply the 2,000 trawlers to replace existing fishing vessels?
Why is there no such proposal to replace old fishing vessels operating off the other coastal areas? The private fishing industry is doing well by adopting fishing methods such as long lining and bottom trawling and so on. Even if all our shipyards work overtime, it will be next to impossible to supply 2,000 trawlers within three years. Earlier, there was a scheme to construct and supply fishing vessels from the Goa shipyard. The Central Institute of Fisheries Nautical and Engineering Training too was building wooden fishing boats and ferro-cement boats. There were no takers for these fishing boats. Finally, has any organisation done a scientific study of the potential of fishing off the coast?
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