MARGAO
As boats operating from the Cutbona fishing jetty had to contend with congestion in the river Sal and steer through the hostile navigation issues at the river mouth, boat owners have floated a proposal - an artificial breakwater system off the Betul coast in the Arabian sea.
In the past, the boat owners had discussed the idea with fisheries officials, but an official proposal has now been made by the Cutband Fisheries Cooperative Society to the Centre during the recent visit of Union Fisheries Minister Parshottam Rupala to Goa.
What has made the boat owners float the proposal is the congestion witnessed in Sal due to the increasing number of fishing vessels. Presently, around 300 vessels are operating from the Cutbona jetty, throwing up the question of navigation in Sal, docking amenities et al. This is coupled with the fact that the long-standing issue of the training wall at the mouth of Sal proposed to tide over the hostile navigation conditions has remained unresolved for decades.
“Boat owners operating from Cutbona are totally dependent on the tidal system to navigate, especially at the river Sal mouth. Hence, we have asked the Centre to develop an artificial breakwater system which is currently existent in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu etc. Such a system will help the daily docking, unloading, loading activities to accommodate all fishing communities - mechanised as well as non-mechanised,” said society chairman Vinay Tari.
He added: Over the three decades, we have been demanding the development of Sal's mouth which is the only navigational channel. However, there are limitations due to the tidal conditions which hamper all fishing activities thereby causing loss of fishermen’s life and property”.
Tari told The Goan that the boat owners have only proposed to set up the breakwater system keeping in mind the future growth of the sector and its requirements.
“This is just a proposal from our side. Let the Centre take it forward by conducting a study, including feasibility," he said.
Tari said the artificial breakwater system will help overcome the hardships, safety and security of the fishermen during natural calamities and adverse weather conditions and boost the livelihood opportunities in marine fishing to its optimum by giving a source of revenue generation to the government as well.
2-decade-old proposal to build training wall yet to take off
MARGAO
With curtains finally set to come down on yet another fishing season, Cutbona-based fishermen seemed destined to their fate -- there isn’t going to be any perceptible change at the river Sal mouth, the site of hostile navigation conditions, when the new fishing season begins on August 1.
For, the two-decade-old proposal to build a training wall to ensure a smooth navigation channel at the river Sal mouth is yet to see the light of day.
When boat owners from jetties across the State start their fishing season on August 1, the commencement of the fishing operations at the Cutbona jetty is dependent on the navigation conditions. In the past, fishing boats could not venture out from the Cutbona and Betul jetties due to hostile navigation conditions. There have been instances of mishaps at the river mouth when fishing boats capsized after hitting the sand bar.
The Cutbona-based boat owners under the banner of Cutband Fisheries Cooperative Society had recently drawn the attention of Union Fisheries Minister Parshottam Rupala to the perennial issues.
“The demand for the long pending work of the development of River Sal mouth with a training wall was taken up before 2010 with the first phase of obtaining all the necessary permissions. Further, tendering of the project was completed somewhere around 2016 and the work was commenced. However due to the NGT's intervention, the ongoing work was stalled,” society chairman Tari informed the Union Minister.
He added: “This is the prime requirement of the fishing community of Goa's major fishing jetty for smooth navigation. Over the decades, the fishing community has suffered the loss of lives and property at the mouth of Sal due to adverse conditions. If the work is taken on priority, it will benefit the fishing community in a big way.”
The boat owners now pin their hopes on Goa Fisheries Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar for realising the long-pending demand.
When a delegation of boat owners along with Velim MLA Cruz Silva called on the Fisheries Minister, Halarnkar promised to prepare the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study within six months, indicating that the boat owners will have to only hope that the training wall project sees the light of the day in the new fishing season in August 2024.
Demand to hand over wholesale fish market to local community
MARGAO
Cutbona-based Cutband Fisheries Cooperative Society has called for handing over the SGPDA wholesale fish market to the local fishermen under the banner of the South Goa Fishermen Community Federation.
The Society insisted on the need to have a full-fledged market for the community to sell and mobilise their catch.
Referring to the lone wholesale market, the Society pointed out that the Directorate of Fisheries has contributed over Rs 40 crore to develop the wholesale fish market under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme.
“This market should give priority to the local Goan fish catch for sale over the traders operating by getting fish from outside Goa as per Vocal for Local under "Aatmanirbhar Bharat". We further demand the control of this market be handed over to the South Goa Fisherman's Community Federation constituted for this purpose,” stated Society Chairman Vinay Tari.
