MARGAO: Cutbona Boat Owners Development Union/Society said economics would decide where they would sell their catch and asserted that they have been managing the Cutbona fishing jetty. And the boat owners denied that there was any mafia controlling or managing the jetty.
Briefing media persons, President Savio D’Silva said the association had nothing to do with Ibrahim Maulana and that Ibrahim does not dictate terms at the jetty, which, he said, is managed efficiently by the organisation much to the satisfaction of the members for the last many years.
“There is an attempt to destabilise our smooth functioning as the four-former managing committee of the society had gone to the court and the Fisheries Department without consulting us gave an affidavit based on which the High Court disposed off the matter without even giving us an opportunity to present our case,” said Joint Secretary Vinay Tari.
He accused former presidents Sebastiao Cardoso and Cypriano Cardoso along with former vice present Patrick D’Silva and former managing committee member Cruz Cardoso of filing a false case that they were not getting facilities when they have been given all the facilities provided to other members.
Reacting to the charge of one agent named BSF not being registered, Savio said there are around 25 applications that are kept on hold as there is no place to accommodate the new comers. “Since it takes about three hours to unload one vessel and 300 trawlers registered for the use of the jetty, the 25 applications have been kept on hold,” he said.
He said the Fisheries Department has now constituted a committee of two officials and the two chairmen of the two trawler owners’ societies at Cutbona to manage the jetty and wondered whether the department would take up the responsibility of ensuring that the trawler owners get their payment.
“We used to take the responsibility but now the fisheries department says that it will not be responsible to whom the trawler owners sell their catch,” he said adding that TCP Minister Vijai Sardessai when apprised of this situation had agreed to solve the problem.
Replying to a question, he said ultimately it was economics that decides the trade. “As a consumer you will want cheap fish and as a vendor I shall want the maximum price; therefore, we shall sell our fish to anyplace where we shall get the best price,” he said when asked if they were willing to sell their catch only to Goan customers.
Besides, he said certain type of fish like ribbon fish, balle amongst others are not consumed in Goa and have to necessarily be sent to Kerala where there is a demand for them. “Whenever a trawler comes with this catch, they have no choice but to export the fish,” he said.
Both Savio and Vinay were at pains to demand that the trawler owners get a good price to sell the prawns that they catch in the month of August. “This is our peak catch and what we earn from selling the prawns is what sustains us for the rest of the year,” they said.
