Mangaluru: The fishing season will resume from Monday after the 61-day ban on fishing ended on Sunday.
The government had banned fishing in deep sea trawlers, purse seine and mechanised boats from June 1 to July 31 in the west coast. Only Country boats with less than 10 HP outboard engines could carry out fishing during the ban period.
More than the fury of the sea, the reason for the 61-day ban was due to environmental reason. Monsoon is the breeding season for fish and they lay eggs along the coast during the season. Hence, most of the fish will be along the coast during the period and easily fall prey to the trawler boats.
During the ban period, the fish was supplied to Mangaluru from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh coast. As the transportation cost was also included, the price had increased drastically.
The big trawlers had all been kept in seaworthy condition. Paint job, repairing the net and boats were done during the ban period.
There 66,000 fishermen in Dakshina Kannada and 1.20 lakh fishermen in Udupi district. The fishing sector, apart from providing direct employment, also provides indirect employment to the people. Many people are employed in ice production, transportation, hawking, loading and unloading, processing and packing.
A press release issued by Indian Court Guard-Karnataka unit said the fishermen should check weather forecasts,radio communication equipment (VHF), carry DATs (Distress Alert Transmitters), life-saving appliances, documents of boats and biometric identity cards, additional mobile phones/batteries, temporary repair kits, first aid kit, extra fuel and ration, flashlights with additional batteries and necessary medicines while venturing into sea for the fishing.
The Coast Guard Karnataka has requested all merchant ships and dhows to follow the laid down Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs).
The assistance from Indian Coast Guard can be sought on toll free number 1554. The following numbers may also be contacted in case of emergency: Police-100, Coast Guard-0824 2405269/2405270 and Ambulance-108. VHF channel 16 can also be utilised for reporting the emergency situation on the boats.