Many forced to scramble in search of stainless-steel diesel stoves
File photo of fishing vessels operating from the Cutbona fishing jetty.
MARGAO
As Goa’s mechanised fishing industry enters the crucial final phase of the current fishing season, boat owners are grappling with an unexpected challenge — a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders used to cook food for fishing crews at sea.
The crisis has forced many vessel owners to scramble across markets in Goa, Mumbai and Karnataka in search of an alternative: stainless-steel diesel stoves.
The shortage comes at a time when boat owners are already struggling with another persistent issue — manpower. In the run-up to the fishing season every year, mechanised vessel operators often travel to states such as Odisha and Chhattisgarh to recruit labour, which forms the backbone of the purse seine fishing operations.
Now, the sudden halt in the supply of commercial LPG cylinders — linked to disruptions in the global energy market triggered by the ongoing Gulf conflict — has created fresh uncertainty for the industry just weeks before the seasonal fishing ban comes into force on June 1.
Cooking for 30-member
crews at sea
While mechanised fishing vessels are powered by diesel engines, LPG cylinders have long been the primary fuel used on board for cooking. A typical purse seine fishing vessel employs around 30 crew members and requires at least three commercial LPG cylinders during a 10-day fishing expedition to meet the crew’s cooking needs.
With gas agencies reportedly instructed to stop supplying commercial cylinders, boat owners have been forced to look for alternatives to keep their vessels operational for the remaining two and a half months of the fishing season.
Many have turned to stainless-steel diesel stoves — an older technology that was widely used on fishing vessels before LPG became easily available.
Search across markets (subheads)
Boat owners have been scouring markets in Margao, Panaji, Mumbai and even Belagavi in neighbouring Karnataka to procure the stoves. While some managed to purchase the equipment locally, others have had to source them from outside the state.
Margao-based boat owner Antush Rodrigues said he had already installed diesel stoves on his vessels as a precautionary measure. “We have procured diesel stoves from the market and installed them on our vessels. This ensures that our fishing operations continue without interruption and that our crew members are able to cook their food at sea,” Rodrigues said.
Another vessel owner, Miguel Rodrigues, who operates a fleet of fishing boats, said his team recently brought in a large consignment of diesel stoves from Mumbai.
“Our staff has procured around 25 stainless-steel diesel stoves from Mumbai. The consignment has arrived and we are now in the process of installing them on our vessels,” he said.
Rodrigues recalled that diesel stoves were once standard equipment on fishing boats. “About 15 years ago, iron or steel diesel stoves were the mainstay of fishing vessels before commercial LPG cylinders became easily available. But we must ensure food for the crew. Each purse seine vessel has about 30 workers, and these stoves are mainly used to cook their meals,” he added.
Industry left with
few options
Fisheries leaders say the sudden suspension of LPG supplies has left boat owners with little choice but to revert to older cooking systems.
Chairman of the Cutbona Fisheries Society Savio D’Silva said the industry was caught off guard by the decision.
“Boat owners find themselves in a difficult situation after gas agencies received instructions to stop supplying commercial cylinders. We have been left with no option but to shift to diesel stoves,” D’Silva said.
Former Cutbona Boat Owners Union president Cypriano Cardozo noted that some vessel owners have even dug out old diesel stoves that had been lying unused in storage.
“Many boat owners have managed to retrieve diesel stoves that had been dumped in their godowns years ago. Given the circumstances, they are now bringing them back into use,” Cardozo said.
Season approaches end
With the annual monsoon fishing ban scheduled to begin on June 1, mechanised boat operators are keen to ensure uninterrupted fishing operations during the remaining weeks of the season. For now, the return of diesel stoves — once a relic of the past — has become an essential stop-gap solution to keep Goa’s fishing vessels at sea and their crews fed.
