The fishermen of Tharuvaikulam, a coastal village in Thoothukudi district, who are playing an exemplary role by adopting an eco-friendly method with gill nets to phase out trawl net fishing, were elated over the move. 

According to Joint Director of Fisheries, R Amal Xavier the government is progressing forward to ship quantities of this protein rich seafood variety to Japan. Among several coastal hamlets in Thoothukudi district, the Tharuvaikulam fishermen were adept at tuna fishing in deep sea waters. Besides, fish landing centre at Threspuram, another coastal hamlet, was also witnessing the sale of tuna fish, he said.

According to P Churchill, fisherman of Tharuvaikulam, tuna was not being consumed much locally, but both boat owners and fishermen had been relying on Kerala, which remains a promising market for tuna. But unfortunately, Kerala was hit hard by floods and tuna’s market price plunged considerably as vendors had no alternative to sell at less price. 

“Now, the government’s initiative to export tuna to Japan gives us a ray of hope to rebound from the setback,” he added. 

Normally, a kilo of tuna fetches a revenue of Rs 150 to Rs 160, but its price touched to a new low of Rs 50 after the flood situation in Kerala. 

Citing the medicinal value of this protein rich tuna, he sought the government to encourage its consumption through advertisements. Fishermen aboard a tuna long liner boat could net an average of about three to four tonnes after 10 to 15 days stay at sea. A small tuna fish weighs about two kilograms to seven kilograms. 

Hailing the move, A Arularaj, another fisherman of Tharuvaikulam, said it enhance livelihoods of fishermen, who venture in to deep sea up to a distance of 200 nautical miles and return to shore after a week or two. Priority needs to be accorded to maintain freshness of the seafood to comply with standards of export trade policy.

Regional Deputy Director of Fisheries, E Kathavarayan, Ramanathapuram, when contacted, told DTNext that boats designed to net tuna fish in oceanic waters were being built at various locations. It would benefit the fishermen of Palk Bay much. To end bottom trawling and to prevent fishermen from trespassing into Sri Lankan water while fishing in the Palk Bay and getting arrested by the Lankan Navy, the deep-sea fishing project was launched.

 

The project with 70 per cent subsidy for constructing a boat at a cost of Rs 80 lakh was gaining momentum. While 16 boats had been constructed in Cochin shipyard, 10 boats were getting ready in Uma shipyard in Nagapattinam. Besides, 23 more boats were being built by Lockheed Engineering private limited and three boats by Shoft shipyard in Mumbai. Such works were expected to be completed in three months. 

Referring to advantages of the project, Kathavarayan said it was a ‘resource specific fishing method’. Since tuna is a migratory fish, 150 fishermen had been exposed to training provided by a team of technical experts from Central Institute of Fisheries Nautical and Engineering Training, head quartered in Cochin. They were trained on locating potential tuna fishing grounds at deep sea by gauging temperature with the aid of global positioning system device. 

“Based on predictions, tuna fish thrives in a conducive thermocline temperature of 23 degree Celsius in oceanic waters,” the Deputy Director said. Once the tuna long liner boats were ready, the trained fishermen could have an open access to sea and fishing could be done anywhere in international waters. 

Unlike trawlers, which run continuously, fuel consumption would be much more lesser in tuna long liners. “Of the total expenditure incurred in a trawler, expense on fuel constitutes about 60 percent to 70 percent. But, it’s only about 20 percent to 25 percent for a tuna long liner boat,” he said. 

With key components of boat construction, training on tuna fishing, market links and infrastructure development, a holistic approach was made to benefit the fishermen at large. Fishing harbors were being established exclusively for tuna fishing at Mookaiyur at an estimated cost of Rs 113 crore and at Kunthukal at Rs 70 crore. About 80 per cent of the harbor construction works were over at Mookaiyur and the other project started taking off a month ago. Among 13 coastal districts in Tamil Nadu, coast length is far larger in Ramanathapuram district with 237 kilometers covering 180 coastal villages, the Deputy Director said.