Prevailing adverse weather conditions has delayed the start of the new fishing season in Gujarat even as the two-month-long mandatory ban on fishing activities along India’s west coast ended on July 31. Government officials say they cannot ignore the warning from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and allow fishermen to set sail in rough conditions. Meanwhile, with the IMD predicting bad weather for the next few days, the start of fishing activities is likely to be delayed further, said fishermen leaders.
They said their boats were ready on July 30 itself to set sail from August 1. “However, late on July 31, the IMD issued a bulletin, predicting strong surface winds until August 4 and warning fishermen not to venture into open sea. Hence, the fisheries department of the Gujarat government is not issuing tokens to fishermen to leave fishing harbours,” Velji Masani, president of Akhil Bharatiya Fishermen Association (ABFA), an organisation working for fishermen’s welfare said. In a bulletin issued at 1:30 pm on July 31, the IMD said that sea will be rough due to a steep pressure gradient, strong surface winds speeding up to 55 to 65 kilometres (kmph) gusting to 75 kmph are likely to prevail over Arabian Sea abutting Gujarat and Maharashtra coasts till August 4.
Fishermen said the warning came at the worst of times. Lakhan Ker, a fisherman leader from Okha harbour in Devbhumi Dwarka district, said around 4,000 boats have been waiting in Okha harbour to get a green signal from the fisheries department. Fishermen are incurring losses on two fronts, he said. “On one hand, boat owners have to pay and provide ration to the crew who have already boarded the boats. On the other hand, fishermen are losing time to their first fishing trips that often affords good catch as their counterparts from other states might take advantage of the situation,” Ker said, adding, “You ask the IMD as to how much rainfall has been recorded in Gujarat since August 1 and the answer will be “very negligible”. The weather in fact has been improving since August 1. On Thursday, it was as good as any fair weather day.”
In Mangrol harbour of Junagadh district, fishermen said they fear their boats getting damaged due to the extended ban. “As the fishing season was to start officially from August 1, fishermen had lowered their boats in the harbour and were waiting to sail out. However, the warning meant, the boats have remained in the harbour and there are apprehensions that during low tides, anchors might scrap the bottom of the boats and damage them,” Damodar Chamudiya, chairman of Mahavir Machchhimar Sahkari Mandali, a cooperative society for fishermen in Mangrol, said.