Fisheries Minister Vinod Palyekar’s purported move to slash subsidies for diesel for Goa’s fishermen, needs to be weighed against practical difficulties Goa’s fishermen face. The move could be a kick on the solar plexus of the fishing trade which is losing its most prized asset fishermen. NAVIN JHA casts his reporter’s net in the troubled waters Edwin Carvalho (50) a successful fisherman from Vasco spent 30 years of his life fishing. He had never ever dreamt that a day would come when he would quit fishing and would do something else however as Carvalho was unable to operate on losses and had also foreseen a dark future so he decided to quit fishing industry and now lives on the earnings of seafood supply. Other fishermen have also hung their nets, as it were, signaling quits. Peter D’ Cruz and his brother Philip D’Cruz from Khariwado, Philip Rodrigues from Baina besides several other fishermen from Vasco and Baina have given up fishing, fearing losses. Some have moved on starting other ventures while still others stare into the sea wondering what the future holds The fishermen and the fishing trade have been facing some serious problems due to which fishermen like me have given up fishing. Though there were multiple reasons for me to quit this industry but problems like no proper infrastructure at Khariwado fishing jetty, no proper agents to buy catch, other missing facilities like cold storage and ice factory, unavailability of labour were few prime reasons due to which I decided to quit fishing business and started supplying sea food Carvalho said. But then, if fishermen do not venture out to sea, there will be no sea food, unless folks like Carvalho, deal in seafood that is brought from other states. He also claimed that if things are not resolved and if government does not come out with proper fishing policy then a day might come when it will be hard to find fishermen in Goa. We have got a small coastline and we have trawlers not only from Goa but also from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka. How do we get a good catch? We need to go 40 to 50 meters deep. I do to understand why the government is planning to do away with subsidies mainly for diesel, which is so essential to run our vessels. Our next generation doesn’t want to join fishing business because the future is dark Carvalho opined. While the fishing industry in Goa has been facing immense challenges, the current Fisheries Minister Vinod Palyekar recently made statement about cutting down subsidy, have deeply hurt the sentiments of fishermen community. Some of them call it as unfair and unjust. According to Jerry Fernandes, President of the Khariwado jetty based, Zuari Fishermen Marketing Co-Operative Society Limited (ZFMCSL), on different occasions the fishing societies in Goa including ZFMCSL have intimated their hardships faced by the fisher folk to the state government, but no steps were taken to resolve the issue. This is the situation where there is a pain in stomach and doctor treats for headache’ and that is why instead of resolving our issues, government wants to cut down our subsidy. Karnataka Government is providing VAT Reimbursement of 22% per litres up to 90000 Ltrs per financial year for mechanized fishing trawlers fitted with 06 Cylinders engine. In Goa, VAT Reimbursement of 22% per litres is only up to 30000 Ltrs per financial year. Therefore a Karnataka fisherman can buy 60,000 liters more of diesel at the same subsidy compared to his Goan counterpart while fishing. He further suggested that We feel that if the subsidy which is given against the purchase of fuel, the same can be shifted to quantity of fish catch caught by the fishermen then it will create a direct effect on the rates of the fish. Also to overcome such high inflation of fish price the Govt of Goa should come up with fish collection centres like Goa Diary’s milk collection points wherein the real fish farmer will get good rate for his/her catch and end consumer will also get benefitted. This will also help in controlling the rates overall he added. Fernandes feel that though the state government and other States’ Governments are trying to streamline the Acts and rules for securing the fishing industries, but no monitoring and implementation is carried out. When we talk about sustainable fishing than why do we allow small sized fish, fish full of eggs, spawning fish to land at the jetties. Why are factories buying such species? Also all the catch which lands at the jetties and other areas is routed according to the rates offered by the market and the fish agents. It is like a normal auction of fish, where the pricing decides where the particular fish will be supplied Fernandes asked. His questions deserve answers He said that in Goa they have only one whole sale market which starts at 02:00 hrs every day and ends by 09:00 hrs where local fisher folk sell their catch at a satisfactory price. We regret to state that the Goa’s wholesale fish market which is governed by SGPDA, is already flooded with fish stock from other states, living no room for local fish he said. All this gives no room for sunshine on the horizon. In the choppy waters of uncertainty, there’s a sinking feeling that the children of fishermen will not go out and cast their nets, to keep this traditional business going.