The new fish ing season began on a cau tious note on Saturday, with mechanised fishing vessels remaining berthed at the Cutbona fishing jetty after boat owners decided it was unsafe to venture into the Arabian Sea through the hazardous mouth of the Riv er Sal. Fishing stakeholders said rough conditions at the riv er mouth, shifting sandbars and a shortage of manpow er prevented several vessels from commencing opera tions, reviving demands for the long-pending construc tion of a training wall to make navigation safer. Despite 15 to 20 mecha nised fishing vessels being ready to resume operations after the 61-day monsoon fishing ban, boat owners de cided against venturing out after assessing the condi tions at the River Sal mouth.
Speaking to the media, secretary of the Cutbona Boat Owners Federation Patrick Silva said the great est concern was not ventur ing out to sea, but ensuring vessels could safely return to the jetty. “Some boats were ready to begin fishing operations, but after assessing the situ ation, owners felt the condi tions at the River Sal mouth made it too risky to return safely,” Silva said. He said the recurring problem continued to af fect the livelihoods of hun dreds of fishermen and boat owners and urged the government to expedite the long-delayed training wall project. “We only hope the pres ent situation opens the eyes of the government and prompts it to finally take up the construction of the training wall.
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The issue has remained unresolved for years despite repeated rep resentations from the fish ing community,” he added. Speaking to the media, chairman of the Cutbo na Fisheries Society Sav io D’Silva said the fishing community was confronted with multiple challenges from the very first day of the season. Apart from unsafe navi gation, several vessels could not commence operations as many workers were yet to return after the monsoon fishing ban, he said. This has resulted in a shortage of manpower. Even those prepared to sail abandoned their plans because of the haz ardous conditions at the river mouth, he said. D’Silva warned that the difficulties would persist even if sea conditions improved in the coming days. “The sea may become calmer, but unless the situation at the River Sal mouth improves, fishing vessels operat ing from Cutbona will continue to face serious difficulties entering and leaving the harbour.
The shallow waters and shifting sandbars pose a significant safety risk to boats and their crew,” he said. Beyond the immediate navigational challenges, stake holders said the fishing sector continues to grapple with manpower, public health and infrastructure issues that re quire sustained attention. The delayed start to the fishing season has dealt a set back to fishermen, crew members and businesses depend ent on the fishing industry, with stakeholders pointing out that every lost day at the beginning of the season translates into financial losses. Boat owners said they would contin ue to monitor conditions at the River Sal mouth over the coming days before taking a call on resuming regular fish ing operations, while expressing hope that fishing activity would gather pace as more migrant workers arrive to join the mechanised fishing vessels. The Health Department has continued screening mi grant workers arriving at the Cutbona fishing jetty in coordination with the Fisheries Department as part of its annual health surveillance exercise.
Health teams are carrying out medical screening and spreading awareness on hygiene and sanitation among workers as they arrive at the jetty to minimise the risk of communicable and wa ter-borne diseases during the fishing season. Stakeholders also urged the Fisheries Department to address pending infrastructure and maintenance issues at the Cutbona fishing jetty, particularly the upkeep of san itation facilities and other basic amenities that support fishing operations. They maintained that while immediate improvements at the jetty would enhance working condi tions and operational efficiency, expediting the long-pend ing training wall project at the River Sal mouth remained critical to ensuring safe navigation and preventing the re curring disruptions that continue to affect the fishing com munity at the start of every season.
