Overhauling of boats at rapid pace in Thoothukudi, Rameswaram
Owner of the wood hulled fishing vessel, who had incurred expenses to the maximum of Rs 10 lakh since it involved carpentry work said unlike steel hulled vessels, it requires high maintenance on wood hulled vessels.
Mechanised boats being dry-docked in Thoothukudi
MADURAI: With just a week away for fishing to resume, several mechanised boats mostly undergo essential maintenance in Thoothukudi and Rameswaram.
The vast fishing fleet of almost 600 boats in Rameswaram and 250 boats in Thoothukudi remain moored.
According to R.J. Bosco, secretary, Thoothukudi Mechanized Boat Owners Association, incurs a maximum expenditure of Rs.5 lakh on maintenance, which includes grinding, painting, anchor chain, mending nets and engine work, if necessarily required, for a boat.
Boat repair works were mostly taken up in May and labour cost is rising every year.
“Now, it costs Rs 15,000 for labour on painting compared to last year when it cost Rs 12,000. For net mending it costs Rs 3,600 against last year’s expense of Rs 3,000. Raw material cost is also on the rising trend as a litre of paint is priced at Rs 350 against Rs.250, last year,” Bosco told DTNEXT on Saturday.
The entire fishing fleet would return after repairs from dry dock and will be ready on June 14 and back to the normal routine at sea from June 15, he said.
The 61-day annual ban on deep sea fishing along the East Coast of Tamil Nadu came into force on April 15.
The ban, enforced by the government through the Fisheries Department, is aimed at facilitating the breeding of fish and the conservation of fish stock in marine ecology.
Mechanized boat fishermen were instructed not to venture into the sea to avoid disturbance caused by trawlers to marine life during the breeding season .
But the situation is different in Rameswaram, where the cost of maintenance and repair is high, S Emarit, president, Rameswaram All Mechanized Boats Fishermen Association, said, adding that boats are wood hulled unlike Thoothukudi, where trawlers are steel hulled.
Owner of the wood hulled fishing vessel, who had incurred expenses to the maximum of Rs 10 lakh since it involved carpentry work said unlike steel hulled vessels, it requires high maintenance on wood hulled vessels.
A carpenter was paid Rs 2,000 daily, he added.