Fishing season to begin fromTuesday

The ban was in force from June 15 in the coastal districts

According to the government order, ban on fishing in all the three coastal districts are expected conclude on August 10.

The big trawlers have all been kept in sea-worthy condition. During the fishing holiday so far, these boats had been given a complete overhaul and a fresh coat of paint, said a fishermen.

During the ban period, fishermen engage themselves in repairing the net, boats in the sea shore.

In the undivided Dakshina Kannada, there are nearly 8,041 fishing boats which help thousands of fishermen to earn their livelihood. This include 4,591 mechanised boats, 2,388 boats, 1,062 traditional boats. Mangalore alone has 1,010 boats, 1,212 mechanised boats, 230 traditional boats. Udupi district has 1,378 boats, 3,379 mechanised boats and 832 traditional boats.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Coastal Karnataka Fishermen Action Committee General Secretary Vasudeva Bolur said though the ban on fishing will conclude on August 10, the fishermen who were engaged in deep sea fishing had already left for fishing on August 3.
However, they are allowed to come back only on Tuesday and can start auctioning the fish. Fishermen are hopeful of getting good catch this time around the year like last year.
He said that Dakshina Kannada gets 85,000 kilo litres of fuel at subsidised rate for fishing vessels. The deep sea fishing gets more amount of fuel. While the traditional boats get
200 litres of kerosene for a month at a subsidised rate.

The government had banned fishing in deep sea trawlers, purse seine, and small mechanised boats, from June 15 to August 10. Country boats with 10 HP outboard engines carry out fishing even during the ban period. Fishing with mechanised boats would resume after the ban period ends, said Fisheries department Deputy Director Suresh Kumar.

In fact the fish catch during 2009-10 was good compared to the previous years. According to the fisheries department statistics Dakshina Kannada had reported 90,345 tonne fish catch worth ` 40,763.46 lakh during the period. Udupi had reported 99,422 tonne fish catch worth Rs 35,922.43 lakh in the same period.

Reason for ban

More than the fury of the sea, the reason for the 57 day ban is environmental. Monsoon is the breeding season for most fish and they lay eggs along the coast during the season. Hence, most of the fish population will be along the coast at this time and easily fall prey to the trawler boats. The reckless fishing during monsoon will adversely affect fishing in the later months.