Big fishing craft will be allowed to operate from May 4 on the Kerala shores but on the condition that the crew adhere to strict social distancing norms and the boats are taken out to sea under an odd-even scheme based on their registration numbers.
The government issued orders on Thursday allowing fishing activities, which had literally ground to a halt during the lockdown, to resume in two stages on May 1 and May 4 with certain restrictions.
Boat seine (Thattumadi) and shore seine (Karamadi) fishing operations have been allowed from May 1.
A maximum of five men will be allowed in each of the two 32-foot boats used for boat seine fishing. In the case of shore seine fishing, a maximum of 12 people would be allowed on either end of the net. The fishermen also have been instructed to maintain a distance of one metre from one another.
Boats having an overall length of between 32 metres and up to 45 metres with Kerala registration could engage in single-day fishing activity with a maximum of seven fishermen.
From May 4, mechanised boats with an overall length above 45 metres and up to 65 metres will be allowed to operate with a maximum of 10 fishermen on alternate days. For this, the Fisheries Department has introduced an odd-even scheme similar to the one introduced for allowing vehicles on roads.
As per the decision, boats with registration numbers ending in odd numbers could ply on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Boats having even-number registrations could operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
All traditional fishing vessels including ring seiners and inboard engine-crafts could operate on alternate days following a similar odd-even scheme based on the registration numbers.
All boat operators are also required to inform the Fisheries Department office 24 hours in advance before venturing out to sea. Details of the crew, including their mobile phone numbers, also needed to be submitted, the order said.