KANYAKUMARI: Most of the fishing boats operating from the western coast of Kanyakumari have returned to the shore as the annual fishing ban period is set to begin in Kerala and Karnataka coasts at midnight on Sunday.
Like their counterparts in Kerala and Karnataka, more than 15,000 fishermen in the coastal villages like Manakudi and Neerodi in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu will keep away from fishing till July 30.
L Wilfred, a fishermen leader in Colachel, said most of the 750 boats have returned to the shore in the last one week. The rest will return by Sunday evening.
“In these 45 days, our fishermen will attend to family functions, organize marriages of their children and take out pilgrimages to Velankanni and Vadipatti shrines. Coastal villages will be lively, and churches will have full attendance as men are back at home,” he said.
The ban is also applicable to the deep sea fishermen in the Thoothoor region of Kanyakumari who operate from ports in Kerala.
The year has been turbulent to them since a good number of them were detained in faraway places like Diego Garcia, Seychelles and Bangladesh.
“The fishing season was troublesome with the frequent detention of our fishermen by naval forces of other countries. Also, the catch was poor in the high seas,” said S Titus, a boat owner in Thoothoor.
The fishermen were also worried about the central government’s proposal of extending 45 days ban to 60 days.
Source: timesofindia