Thiruvananthapuram: Though, the South West monsoon is yet to set in vigorously in Kerala, the annual 45 day trawling ban was imposed in Kerala coasts. With the rain clouds playing hide and seek even after 3 weeks since the normal monsoon onset date, things are not in Kerala’s favour this season.
During the trawling ban over 5,000 trawlers will be kept out of a 12-nautical mile zone from the coast. The ban is not applicable for traditional fishermen. The 45-day annual ban has been in force since 1988, to ensure the replenishment of fish population. Monsoon is the spawning season for many varieties of fish, including shrimp.
The overexploitation of marine wealth is an issue of serious concern. These days there are trawlers, which can even stir up the ocean bed causing widespread damage to the fragile marine ecosystem. The trawling ban is found to be effective in restoring the balance at least to some extent before the trawlers would zoom in once again in the quest of nature’s bounties.
Fish is a popular item in Kerala menu and it is a cheaper source of protein compared to meat. The catch from traditional fishermen would not be sufficient to meet the burgeoning demand for fish, so for the next 45 days, fish would be dearer for Malayalees.
