VASCO
The Goa Fishing Boat Owners Association (GFBOA) has asked the State government to allow small boat owners to also venture into the sea along with canoe owners to catch solar shrimps which appear in huge quantities during the end of July.
"The government has enforced a fishing ban from June 1 to July 31 and we trawler and boat owners follow this ban since we want the quantity of the fish to increase in the sea. However, we have a huge quantity of solar shrimp which appear during the end of July. We cannot just sit idle because it will disappear and fishermen will lose a huge opportunity and even the fisheries department is aware of this situation," GFBOA president Jose Philip D'Souza.
"We have traditional fishermen who venture out in canoes to catch solar shrimps a few days earlier and once they go and catch the solar shrimps, we boat owners get nothing when we start our business after implementing the fishing ban.”
D’Souza said the GFBOA has no objection if traditional fishermen in canoes catch solar shrimps, but pointed out that small boat owners of their association should also be allowed to catch the prized solar prawns.
“If these solar shrimps are not caught, they go to another location and leave behind their shells. Sometimes, we have many small boat owners who say that they only get empty shells of the solar prawns once they venture into the sea after the fishing ban, either because the solar prawns have already been netted by the canoes or the solar shrimps have already changed their location while the small boat owners waited for the start of the fishing season after the fishing ban period.”
“We request the government to allow small boat owners to also venture into the sea along with canoe owners to catch the solar shrimps which appear in huge quantities during the end of July. These small boat owners have not much business and solar shrimps could yield them a good business and help them survive throughout the year,” D'Souza added.
