Anxiety looms over the mechanised fishing sector here as boats start returning to the sea for fishing from Monday midnight after the 47-day monsoon trawl ban. Lack of rain is the main cause for the anxiety because fishermen believe that there is a link between rain and fish availability. While there was appreciable rainfall when the monsoon commenced in June, it dipped in July. General secretary of the Kollam District Fishing Boat Operators Association Peter Mathias said the prized export-oriented catches that the mechanised sector expected during monsoon included Karikadi (marine shrimp), kazhanthan (jinga shrimp), squid, cuttlefish, lizard fish, and kilimeen (pink perch). The presence of rich shoals of these varieties in the Kerala waters during monsoon was attributed to the heavy presence of planktons. While shrimps consume plankton, the fish varieties consume marine creatures that congregate to eat planktons. This phenomenon is witnessed during monsoon as the rainwater that flows from the vegetation belts in the east, carrying nutrients, enters the sea and cools the marine waters making conditions congenial for the growth of planktons. Mr. Peter said that the rich catch of squid and kilimeen by the traditional fishing sector gave some hope for the mechanised sector. But the real profits would come from karikadi and kazhanthan. Traditionally the monsoon season used to be called the karikadi season of the mechanised sector in Kollam and it lasted from June to August. But following the imposition of the trawl ban, these shrimp could not be harvested during June-July and the catch had been falling over the years, Mr. Peter said. The situation ruined the mechanised fishing sector of Kollam but now the sector was getting adapted to it. He said the karikadi season was followed by the ribbon fish season which was also a prized export-oriented fish. Last year the ribbon fish catch was below expectations, he said.