With the COVID-19 caseload in coastal areas soaring to alarming levels, the Fisheries Department has issued detailed guidelines for fishing vessels and sale of fish.
Roadside sale of fish and house-to-house sales have now been prohibited. COVID-19 safety protocols, including physical distancing and wearing of masks, are to be strictly followed in fish markets.
Fish unloaded in harbours/landing centres within containment zones cannot be sold outside the zones. The department, in a July 16 order, has also banned the transport of fish to containment zones from outside. Fishing vessels have been banned from unloading their catch in harbours/land centres in other districts. The department has also banned the entry of other-State vessels onto the Kerala shores until further notice.
Transportation of fish from regions outside the State where disease transmission has been reported is prohibited. Trucks from ‘safe’ regions elsewhere should undergo disinfection at check-posts. Fish traders have been directed to provide rest rooms and essential amenities for the crew so that their contact with the local populace is minimal.
Traditional fishing craft including ring seiners can engage in one-day fishing under an odd-even system based on their registration numbers. Boats with registration numbers ending in odd numbers will be allowed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Those with registration numbers ending in even numbers can fish on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Boats using seine nets, including Thattumadi fishing, should have a maximum length of 32 feet and an engine capacity of 25 HP. The number of crew is restricted to five for each boat. In the case of shore-seine fishing (Karamadi), a maximum of 12 people will be allowed on either end of the net. Fishermen should maintain a distance of one metre from one another.
The department has reiterated that auctioning of the catch stands banned. Instead, they will be sold at prices fixed by the harbour management societies. Entry to harbours/landing centres will be restricted to boat crew, fisheries labourers, and traders. The local bodies concerned should ensure that harbours and landing centres are disinfected on a daily basis.
The Fisheries Department has also directed the elderly in the coastal regions to observe reverse quarantine. Senior citizens, especially people with diabetes, blood pressure, cancer and kidney diseases, should maintain physical distancing from family members who go out to work.