Rameswaram fishermen face falling fish stocks

INDIA: The quantity of fish on the Indian side of the sea off the Rameswaram coast has fallen so rapidly that only about 100 boat operators venture into the sea though the Rameswaram coast boasted the maximum number of 900 mechanised boats in Tamil Nadu, official sources said.

The sources said fishing as a profession was now a “loss-making venture.” “We spend about Rs.12,000 to Rs 13,000 on diesel, maintenance of fishing net, etc, for fishing, but we do not get even fish worth Rs.4,000,” they said.

One reason for the rapid fall in the fish wealth was indiscriminate use of explosives and banned fishing nets for the purpose of fishing.

The sources said that the option before the fishermen now was to fish in Sri Lankan waters where fish was abundant. However, the Sri Lankan fishermen, who were mostly friendly, were against the Indian fishermen using banned fishing net varieties, leading to fights in mid-sea. The Sri Lankan navalmen also had to intervene, they said.

(Agencies)