The State government will impose a ban on trawling operations from 12 midnight on June 9 and the 52-day annual monsoon ban will be in effect till July 31 midnight.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian on Friday. The Minister assured that free ration disbursal for fishers and those engaged in allied activities will be made more efficient. The department has been operating 24x7 fisheries control rooms in all the coastal districts since May 15. Various trade union leaders, District Collectors, district police chiefs, and chief of coastal police along with officials from Marine Enforcement, Coast Guard, Navy, Fisheries and Civil Supplies, attended the meeting.
Collectors will take district-level decisions after convening a meeting of the officials concerned and trade union leaders in the sector. Mr. Cherian has instructed the Collectors of coastal districts to issue orders for outstation boats to leave Kerala coast before the ban begins. Neendakara harbour in Kollam district was earlier open to all traditional fishing vessels except inboard boats during the ban and this will continue this year as well. Diesel bunks operating in harbours and fish landing centres should remain closed, but selected Matsyafed bunks in the respective districts will be allowed to operate for inboard crafts. Fishers have been asked to take all safety measures and keep biometric ID, Aadhar card, and life jacket while venturing into the sea. All boats should follow the colour-coding norms and boats that are not colour-coded should complete the process during the ban period.
Only one carrier boat will be allowed along with inboard vessels during the ban period. The Fisheries Department, Marine Enforcement and the Coastal Police have been asked to work in coordination if rescue operations are needed. Mr. Cherian also directed Navy and Coast Guard to stay prepared to carry out rescue operations in emergency situations. District police chiefs have been asked to take steps to deploy extra force as per the requirement of Marine Enforcement and district Fisheries officers during the period. “By the evening of June 9, the Marine Enforcement and Coastal Police must ensure that all trawlers have been moved to safe locations. Strict legal action will be taken against boats that violate the ban,” said the Minister.
