Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)
Mangaluru, Aug 31: The new fishing season in Dakshina Kannada district will begin on September 1. Fishing boats have been kept ready to venture into the sea. Migrant fishermen from other states, who had gone back because of fishing holiday and coronavirus lockdown, are returning after a long break. Deep-sea fishing is set to resume now.
Out of the labour force engaged in deep-sea fishing here, about 80 per cent (12,000) belong to other states like Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal. As per the current rules, the fishing workers coming from other states need not undergo quarantine and they can get to work straight if they have no coronavirus infection symptoms. Already about 25 per cent of them have come back.
File Photo
The fishermen have also prepared for deep-sea fishing. By making use of the available labour force, they have painted their boats, repaired the engines, and undertaken maintenance work etc which are in the final stages. Ice plants have been opened, and ice is getting ready for the first fishing journey. Initially, only a few boats may leave for fishing, and they will return with fish catches after ten days, said Majeed, a fisherman from Bunder here.
Because of coronavirus problem and the resultant shortage of workers, deep-sea fishing is being resumed with a delay of a month this time. Restrictions on the movement of passengers from other states, 14-day quarantine etc have since been lifted, and registration in the Seva Sindhu app has been removed. Therefore, fishermen from other states have turned towards Mangaluru again.
During the fishing ban, fish from Tamil Nadu was supplied to Dakshina Kannada. As country boats had limited catches, fish prices had doubled. Since the last few days, fish has also started to arrive from Malpe, Karwar, Bhatkal etc. The fish lovers are happy in expectation of getting fresh fish at reasonable prices once the boats with fish catches begin to touch the shore at Bunder here.
Naveen Bangera, vice president of All Karnataka Purse Seine Boat Fishermen's Association, said that even though corona rules have been relaxed, the fear of corona among the workforce has not dwindled. He said only a few workers have come, and the boat owners have arranged for buses to bring workers from Odisha.
Nitin Kumar, president of Trawl Boat Fishermen's Association, says that deep sea fishing will begin on September 1. He said that with the relaxation of quarantine and other rules, there is no problem and fishing is expected to be conducted smoothly.
In the meanwhile, mechanised fishing had begun at Malpe on August 10, and deep-sea boats have returned after a long time for fishing. As only a limited number of fishing workers have returned from their home states so far, fishing is being conducted with a limited workforce.