Even as the Fisheries Department has set a deadline for fishing boat owners to remit their annual contribution to the Kerala Fishermen's Welfare Fund Board, many are yet to pay citing the steep decline in their income.
Though the owners of bigger fishing boats are supposed to remit ₹15,000 as their annual contribution to the fund, only the owners of a few newer boats have so far remitted the amount.
The steep hike in the revised boat registration and license renewal fee is reportedly discouraging many to remit the amount. Now, the hiked license fee for boats with 22-metre length is ₹50,000 a year, which is not a fair calculation according to boat owners in Kerala.
Though the boat owners are supposed to remit both the license renewal fee and welfare fund contribution, they are urging the Fisheries Department to come out with an ‘affordable option’ for the fishers.
March 13 deadline
According to Fisheries Department officials, the last date fixed for remittance of the contribution is on March 13. Smaller boats with in-board engines too will have to comply with the rule and keep the receipt ready for verification during inspections.
Only those with a valid registration and renewed license will be able to remit the contribution to the welfare fund.
“The traditional boat operators in the sector will never be able to bear the license renewal fee and the contribution to the welfare fund together. With the sector in crisis, fishers are giving up their work and searching for other jobs,” says V. Umesh, a boat owner and the district president of All India Fishermen Congress.
He also said talks on the matter with the Fisheries Department had not yielded any result.
Boat owners in Kozhikode district say there is no provision to remit the amount in instalments. With the rigid rules, many boat owners are finding it hard to renew their boat licence.
