Fishers urge change in trawling ban period

CHENNAI: In a decade, the number of fishermen in the city has surged drastically however the quantity of fish remains the same due to the change in sea pattern.

With many fish varieties seeming to be extinct post Tsunami in 2004, fishermen have placed several demands including change in the annual fishing ban period during the northeast monsoon.

The fishermen have urged to increase the assistance cash from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 for 61 days.

“Every year, during the 61 days annual fishing ban period, we get Rs 5,000 which is not sufficient to manage a family. The price of all products has increased post-Covid pandemic including fuel and grocery items. Also, fish sales seem to be dull in the market for the past few months,” said L Kumar, a fisherman and wholesale trader at Ennore.

“There are many fishermen’s children studying at private schools. As we are unable to pay the fees due to fishing restrictions. The government should give us fee concession,” said MD Dhayalan, President of Indian Fisherman Association, Kasimedu fishing harbour.

He added that the department should give at least Rs 3 lakh to cover the maintenance charges of the boats. Fishermen using trawlers have urged the government to increase the diesel subsidy.

Fish varieties have decreased drastically after the Tsunami. There are several fishes which have vanished and reduced including sennagarai, white fishes (sudumbu), parrot fish, white pomfret – where the size of the fish has reduced, Ponyfish (kaaral), and kudhupu.

“The fisheries department claimed that the decrease in fish quantity is due to overfishing, which is not true. In the past 10 years, the sea has been polluted with plastic waste, discharge of oil substances in the Indian territory by other countries, which leads to low oxygen levels for the fishes, so they stay in the deep sea,” said Nanjil P Ravi, President, All India Fishermen Association.

Meanwhile, the fishermen have urged the government to change the annual fishing ban period from April – May to October – December which is the period the fish breeding happens.

The entire system has changed after the Tsunami, hence The existing ban period (April – May) is the time the fishermen can get a good catch.

“Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have banned fishing during the fish breeding season. In Tamil Nadu, though several petitions have been filed to change the season they have not done any research or have taken any steps. While fishing during the northeast monsoon, we could spot eggs inside the fishes. If the government changes the ban period, we can prove that within five years there will be an increased quantity of the fish,” said Ravi.