Team Herald
PANJIM/ CUNCOLIM: The final set of boats and fishing trawlers have been docked at various jetties across the Goa ahead of the 60-day fishing ban where mechanized boats will not be able to venture into sea from today till July 31. Speaking to herald TV the fishermen shared their experience fishing in this season, the issues they have, and demands they need to be fulfilled.
Fishing by trawlers is banned during the monsoons as during this time the fishes release their roe or eggs and the ban is enforced so that roe laden fish get caught which would eventually reduce the availability of fish in the sea.
However, fishing by traditional canoes or Ramponkars is permitted as they fish in shallow waters and do not venture out into the sea.
Trawler owners object to fishing by Ramponkars particularly because they get the best catch of solar prawns, which are prized catches that they miss.
Fishing across Goa went well this season but fishermen from Vasco suffered due to the bad condition of the jetty. Many boats did not do business fearing damage to boats at the jetty and the repair cost it ensues.
“While Goan boats are following the fishing ban, fishing boats from neighboring states are fishing openly on our seas. We will not be quiet if the Government does not act. Our fishing jetty at Kharewada is dilapidated and we are not sure when the jetty can collapse and tempos can sink. The government will be responsible if any casualty occurs at Kharewada,” said Goa Fishing Boat Owners Association President Jose Philip D’Souza.
Chapora jetty needs urgent repairs
Fishermen at Chapora jetty too claimed that the jetty needs to be repaired and renovated, which should include toilets and changing rooms among others. President of the Chapora Fisherman Association, Balbhim Malvankar said, “This season was good but several issues need to be rectified on priority, especially the sand bar at the mouth of the river.” He also demanded the government should ban bull trawling and LED fishing.
At Panjim-Betim jetty, the director of the fishermen’s society said this season was good compared to the last two years.
Problems at Cutbona Jetty, one of the major fishing ports in the state, remained unsolved. Apparently, the inaction of the Goa State Fisheries Department and the negligence of some boat owners have left the Cutbona fishing port in a mess
It is clear that the local boat owners and the officials and employees of the Goa State Fisheries Department have failed to keep the port clean and tidy. The boat owner said that due to improper construction of gutters, the fish water is stagnated and a stinking smell is predominant in and around the port.
The Fisheries Department has expanded the Cutbona Jetty. The new 220-meter-long jetty even after two years of its completion is yet to be used and is left in a mess. Cipriano Cardozo, owner of a boat said, “The port was not being used because it was difficult to load fish carts at the expanded port and a large concrete embankment adjacent to the port prevented the train from going directly to the boat. Besides, it was necessary to build a shed at this port which was not built.”
Cardozo said that the biggest problem is the formation of sand dunes at the mouth of the river. Due to the sand bar near the mouth of the river, boats often meet with accidents that cause life risks to the workers. The government had planned to take up a project to curb the sand dunes, but some NGOs objected and the project fell into disrepair. Cardozo has called on the government to take measures to protect boat owners and workers from the dangers of the river.
Boat owners and workers were seen clearing the nets and keeping them in a safe place. Some boats have been taken on land to carry out minor repairs and other works and some have been taken up for repairs. About 4,000 migrant workers from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Karnataka, and West Bengal are set to return home on this season-set vacation.
The boat owners are expecting a complete overhaul of the Cutbona Jetty in the coming fishing season.
