Fishing ban ends, Kanniyakumari boats return with Rs 5 crore worth catch
The boats returned to shore by 9 pm with a massive catch weighing at least four tonnes, including high-value fish such as kingfish, pomfret, shrimps, prawns, and more.
CHENNAI: With the two-month-long fishing ban off the Kanniyakumari coast ending on Sunday, several boats returned to the sea early on Monday and, much to the joy of the fishermen, came back with a huge haul worth Rs 5 crore.
According to a Daily Thanthi report, the boats returned to shore by 9 pm with a massive catch weighing at least four tonnes, including high-value fish such as kingfish, pomfret, shrimps, prawns, and more.
Many traders from nearby districts and other states flocked to the harbour to bid for the fresh catch. The months of April and May each year are considered the breeding season for fish in the deep sea off the Kanniyakumari coast.
Meanwhile, many fishermen who set out to fish off the Thoothukudi coast returned with a substantial amount of fish.
RJ Bosco, secretary of Thoothukudi Mechanised Boat Owners Association, on Tuesday, said both the fishermen and the boat owners were content with the fish catch on the opening day, as it’s a little more than break-even on expenses.
“It incurs an expense of Rs 2.15 lakh on diesel, labour and ice for a boat on every fishing day, and the fish netted was sufficient to cover the expenses. The average fish catch of a big boat is worth Rs 3 lakh. A fishing trawler consumes about 1,200 litres of diesel on the day of fishing,” Bosco said.
Further, he said the fish netted were mostly ‘para’ ‘ooli’ and ‘karal’, and it fetched a considerable price at Thoothukudi fishing harbour.
Usually, a bucket of fish fetches Rs 3,000 at the auction, but the same quantity was priced at Rs 4,500, because most of the vendors from Kerala, where the annual fishing ban is in effect, preferred to buy seafood in Thoothukudi.
According to Fisheries Department sources, 192 mechanised boats ventured into the sea on Tuesday in violation of the second consecutive day as squally weather forecasted by the IMD on the Gulf of Mannar advised the fishermen to keep off sea as a safety precautionary measure.
Therefore, the department has initiated necessary action against those who violated the instructions.
