Implementation of Total Fish Ban will be resisted

Trivandrum :The trawling ban is imposed for the sustenance of the fishery resources and the artisanal fishers and to prevent clashes in the sea. Several studies have shown that the 45-day trawling ban has contributed to an increase in fish resources. There can be a total preservation of the fishery resources only if a 90-day ban is imposed during the monsoon. The call for total ban on fishing during the monsoon by some boat owners is to help the fish import lobby. There can be import of the needed quantity of fish during times when fishing is not undertaken in Kerala. If the Government agrees to total fish ban, the small artisanal fishers would be pushed into hunger. The Kerala Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Federation warned that if the Government tries to implement the total fish ban, fishworkers will stage strong protests both in the seas and the land.

The fishworkers are not against the use of hook and line or gill net for fishing by mechanized boats. The fishworkers are against the unscientific fishing of trawling which destructs the sea bottom along with fry and eggs of fishes. The artisanal fishers do not adopt the destructive methods of fishing.

The Government must initiate immediate steps to strengthen sea patrolling in all district centres for the rescue of fishermen caught in heavy rains and winds during monsoon. The Federation has also demanded timely measures to rehabilitate fishworkers in regions where there is a threat of sea erosion

The Federation has demanded that the Government should not deviate from the programmes laid out by the Left Democratic Front in its election manifesto for the fishworkers and called for their timely completion. Sea sand mining should not be permitted at any cost. If the present Fisheries Development and Management Policy were strictly implemented, the conflicts in the fisheries sector can be avoided.

Shri.T.Peter, Shri.A.Andrews, Shri.John.J.P, Shri.Anto Elias and Shri.Valerian Issac participated in the press conference.