Covid-19 casts an uncertainty net over resumption of deep-sea fishing from August 1

Though the ban on deep-sea fishing will end on July 31, the Covid-19 scare has cast its shadow on the resumption of fishing activities from August 1.

The 61-day ban on fishing was imposed from June 15 in the wake of rising coronavirus cases.

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According to the Fisheries Department data, there are 57 purse seine boats, 1,270 trawl boats, 1,483 mechanised gill net boats, 549 non-mechanised boats and 150 traditional boats in Mangaluru. Over 4,000 labourers from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal were working in these boats. After the lockdown was imposed, they returned to their native.

If they come back to Mangaluru, they will have to be in quarantine as per rules. Further, maintaining social distance is also bothering the fishermen leaders.

Normally, more than 8-10 fishermen go for deep-sea fishing for 10 days in a boat. The mechanised boat crew members, who carry out fishing in shallow water, return after three days. A few of the purse seine boats return with the catch on the same day.

CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH

According to Mangaluru Trawl Boat Association President Nithin Kumar, key issues of quarantine for the labourers returning from outside the state and maintaining social distance needs to be resolved before the fishing season begins.

Meanwhile, a meeting of fishermen representatives and stakeholders is called on July 29, to decide on the resumption of deep-sea fishing.

“There is a need to work out a procedure to make Covid-19-free fishing operations. The meeting will explore the possibility of postponing the deep-sea fishing for a few more days,” Kumar said.

“The issue of handling and transportation of the fish catch once it lands at the fisheries harbour needs to be addressed as well,” he added.

In 2019-20, Dakshina Kannada district recorded 1,80,189 metric tonne fish catch worth Rs 2,036 crore. It was 1,59,852 metric tonne worth Rs 1,716 crore in 2018-19 and 1,63,925 metric tonne worth Rs 1,656 crore in 2017-18