Country-made boats with outboard motors ventured out in the Arabian Sea on Monday and netted the prized solar shrimp in moderate quantity. A number of motorised canoes ventured in the sea assisted by pleasant weather conditions and returned back with moderate catch of the prize solar shrimp.
At the Colva Beach, motorised canoes unloaded tonnes of shrimps even raising hopes amongst mechanised boat owners of a moderate catch of the prized shrimp this season. Each of the canoes is believed to have netted shrimp ranging from 300-500 kgs on Day one.
What’s significant to note is that the fishermen made a fast buck out of the catch with a kg of solar shrimp pegged at a whopping Rs 170. A number of insulated trucks and fish merchants stationed themselves at the beach waiting for the canoes to return back with tons of the prized shrimp. A leading fish merchant said the fishermen has got a good rate for the shrimp given that Monday was the first day of the harvest this season. “Solar shrimps have not been found in abundance along the west coast this season. Naturally, the fishermen have got a good rate’, remarked a leading fish merchant.
Meanwhile, the stage is set for the commencement of the new fishing season, beginning from August 1. The hustle and bustle have returned back at the Cutbona fishing jetty, the home for around 250-300 fishing vessels. While the migrant workers have started descending at the fishing jetty, many boat owners have headed to Odisha and Jharkhand to get the labourers.
Spokesman of the Cutbona Boat Owners’ Union, Elvis Gomes told Herald that around 50 per cent of the workforce has arrived at the fishing jetty. “We expect the labourers to land at the jetty just one time. The boat owners are all gearing up for a new fishing season”, he said.
