A little over a fortnight into the new fishing season, Goa’s mechanised fishing industry finds itself at sea over the migrant labour, with a significant fleet of fishing vessels still lay anchored at the State’s fishing jetties for want of the migrant crew.
While the boat owners keep their fingers crossed over the arrival of the migrant crew, they are now faced with another issue of concern – migrant crew heading to neighbouring Karnataka to work on the fishing vessels on percentage basis.
A visit to the Cutbona fishing jetty, the State’s major fishing hub, saw mechanised boat owners keeping their fingers crossed over the arrival of manpower. One has also come across stories how unscrupulous labour agents acting as middlemen have fleeced and cheated some of the boat owners under the pretext of arranging crew for the fishing vessels.
While some of the boat owners, some of whom own fleet of vessels, have managed to arrange the manpower, there are still many others, who are hoping against hope for the labourers to report at the jetty to start the new fishing season.
Sources pointed out that many a small fishing vessel has started the season with limited manpower, but the manpower crunch has hit the operations of the purse seine vessels, each employing over 30-35 crew members.
Chairman of the Cutbona Fisheries Co-operative Society, Vinay Tari said the manpower issue has come to haunt many a boat owner this season. “The boat owners are all geared to venture out in the sea, but the delay in the arrival of manpower has left them with no option than to anchor the fishing boats at the jetties,” Tari said.
He added: “Goa’s fishing industry totally banks on the migrant manpower for its sustenance. Unless the workers come on time, many a boat will lay anchor at the fishing jetties.”
Former president of Cutbona Boat Owners Union Cyprian Cardozo said a little over 50 per cent of the fishing boats operating from Cutbona jetty have ventured out in the sea to start the new fishing season. “Many a boat owner is still awaiting the arrival of the migrant crew to venture out in the sea. Some of the boat owners have managed to get the required crew. Others are still hoping that the workers will report at the jetty at the earliest,” he said.
Cyprian pointed out that many a migrant worker is believed to have headed to neighbouring Karnataka to work on the fishing vessels on percentage basis. “In Goa, most of the boat owners pay the migrant workers monthly wages, ranging from a monthly wage of Rs 13,000-15,000. “Boat owners from the neighbouring state has lured the labour agents to send the workers to Karnataka to work on percentage basis. This is indeed a matter for concern. We are closely monitoring the situation,” he said.
To ensure that workers arriving in Goa are not lured to Karnataka after descending at the railway station, some of the owners have arranged charter buses to ensure that the workers alight right at the jetty to avert poaching.
Another former Cutbona Boat Owners Union Savio Coutinho echoed similar sentiments. Savio pointed out that some of the boat owners had personally headed to the states of Odisha and Jharkhand to look out for the workers. “We have come across stories that some of the labour agents have disappeared after taking advance money from the boat owners. Let us wait and see how the situation unfolds in the coming days. Some of the boat owners have started the season, while there are many others who are still waiting for the arrival of the workers,” Savio added.