Fishing boats across the State may stay off the waters from February 15 following a strike call by All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators Association raising a slew of demands. The association demanded that the Fisheries Department stop framing of bogus charges against operators in the name of catching juvenile fish. While the operators are supposed to be acted against if juvenile fish constituted 50% of the total catch composition, they are now being framed even on detecting a trace of juvenile fish, association secretary Joseph Xavier Kalapurakkal said. Providing subsidy for diesel and correcting anomalies in the Kerala Marine Fishing Regulation (Amendment)Act were the other demands raised by the association.
2018, The Hindu