Ramanathapuram
Mechanised boat fishermen who had set out for fishing on the evening of June 14, a few hours ahead of the end of 61-day fishing ban period, returned on Sunday morning with a huge catch of high-rated prawns but were ‘taken for a ride’ by the exporters who allegedly formed syndicate and lowered the price.
Hundreds of fishermen from Rameswaram, Pamban and Mandapam had set out for fishing on about 1,500 trawlers. “This was varalaru kaanada paadu (unprecedented catch)”, said M Irudhayam, who had been in fishing for more than 25 years.
The catch ranged from 200 to 700 kg, mostly prawns, depending upon the size of the boats, he said. While smaller boats returned with about 200 kg of prawns the catch was 500 to 700 kg for bigger vessels, he said. Some of the fishermen returned to the shore on Saturday afternoon and went back for fishing after offloading the catch, he said.
The fishermen also had 15 to 30 baskets of crabs and 20 to 40 baskets of ‘kanavai’ (squid), he said. The catch was even more for Pudukottai fishermen, he said. There was no need to get into the Sri Lankan waters as the fishermen got good catch in the Palk Bay towards Pudukottai, north off Rameswaram fishing jetty, he said.
The ‘kachan kaathu’ (wind blowing from south to north) in the last one and a half months could be the reason for the good catch, he reasoned.
The fishermen, however, could not sell the catch, even the best quality prawns for good price as the four export companies, which procured the catch, allegedly formed a syndicate and even refused to quote the price. The fishermen were at the mercy of the companies as they adopted ‘take it or leave it’ policy, said fishermen leader P. Sesu Raja.
The companies which had offered good rate for prawns in the post-fish banning period, even declined to quote the rate stating there was shortage of ice and the fishermen could either leave the catch or take it back, he said. In the absence of cold storage facilities, the fishermen had no option but to agree for the price fixed by the companies.
As the companies tried to ‘dictate terms’, the fishermen decided to go for a token strike on Monday, he said. All the fishermen, including their counterparts in Pudukottai district, had decided to abstain from fishing on Monday, he added.
Meanwhile, the fisheries department has decided to serve ‘charge sheets’ to boat owners for venturing into the sea without obtaining fishing permits and violating the Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing Regulation Act. The Deputy Director of Fisheries, the adjudicating officer, has summoned the owners for an explanation, officials said.