Kerala’s fisheries sector, especially the traditional fisherfolk, is up in arms over the reported change in the government policy in allowing the entry of corporates into the deep-sea fishing by permitting bigger ships for operations.
Charles George, State president of Kerala Fishermen Coordination Committee, said that it would be disastrous to deploy big vessels for deep-sea fishing when thousands of small boats are carrying out their operations. The move would impact the sustainability and livelihood of fisherfolk besides affecting the marine ecosystem. The entry of large corporate ships would lead to overfishing, competition for resources and increased risk of accidents with fishing nets, he said.
In a representation to Union Minister for Fisheries, Hibi Eden, MP said that by permitting vessels up to 50 metres in length along with the approval of a 50 per cent subsidy to construct such vessels would have far reaching implications for the traditional fishing communities across the coastal states. Allowing large corporates to enter this sector with bigger vessels and advance technology is likely to severely affect the catch for small boats, leading to economic and social distress among the coastal population.
The absence of any obligation to bring the catch ashore in Kerala raises serious concerns about the State being bypassed in the value chain. Companies will now be able to transfer their catch at mid-sea to other vessels, thereby bypassing the State’s harbours and harming Kerala’s marine-based economy, including its fish processing and export sectors, Hibi Eden said. He urged the Fisheries Minister to initiate consultations with state governments, coastal representatives and traditional fisherfolk before implementing the new policy.
According to Charles George, large ships and industrial fishing companies are operating in Europe and other cold water zones where the fisheries sector is almost in shambles especially with the disappearance of edible fish due to overfishing. Out of the 15 fishing grounds in the world, he said 13 were over exploited and the depletion of fish stock is very evident. The only two grounds are in India at Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.
Joseph Xavier Kalappurackal, general secretary of Kerala Fishing Boat Operators Association, said that the Centre had initiated a move towards this effect in 2022 as part of propagating Blue Economy initiatives and offered fishing cooperative societies and mechanised boat owners 50 per cent subsidies to build such bigger ships. These ships have the capacity to process and store 250 tonnes of fish with crew strength of hardly seven. Both the traditional fishing community and fishing boat owners opposed the move in the online meeting where the then Fisheries Minister was present. The trawling ban was the only challenge faced by boat operators. Now other issues are cropping up like bigger ships venturing into the sea which will hit the sector badly, he added.