THE GOAN NETWORK | VASCO
While the new fishing season is all set to begin on August 1, traditional and mechanised fishermen in Vasco seem to have mixed emotions as they prepare to venture into the sea.
While some are hopeful of a good fishing season, many are anxious over weather conditions and the arrival of their workers from other states.
While many politicians may have raised issues pertaining to fishermen in the ongoing assembly session, the ground reality seems totally different with many fishermen appearing to be losing hope of any support from the government to keep the traditional occupation alive.
In Vasco, many fishermen and mechanised fish boats (trawlers) operate from the Kharewaddo jetty, while traditional fishermen and canoes venture into the seas from the Kharewaddo and Baina coasts.
Many factors have posed a challenge to boat owners at present, with weather and availability of workforce among the main issues.
All eyes on weather
When contacted, many boat owners have begun complaining that there is increasing uncertainty over whether the season would start on August 1, considering the rough weather.
“We have seen that rains accompanied by gusty winds have created rough waves and this could further delay the timely commencement of the fishing season,” said a boat owner.
“We have seen a series of alerts by the IMD and off late, almost every day has been an orange alert which has sometimes scaled upwards to red alert. We have been worried about warning signals from the department insisting that no one must venture into the seas during this kind of season. Though these alerts are in the interest of public safety, business delay can add to losses because in some cases, every day counts for us.”
Fear over availability
of workforce
When contacted, Goa Fishing Boat Owners Association (GFBOA) president Jose Philip D'Souza said another fear in the minds of boat owners was the availability of workforce.
"Everyone knows that boat owners depend heavily on workers from other states like Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand and sometimes Karnataka as well. This time around, there have been various issues and with the recent train crash incident, railway travel is an issue in Odisha,” said D’Souza.
“While some boat owners have seen their workers come back, a majority of the boat owners still wait for their workers to return. The train service in Orissa has been hampered, and there are also other natural calamities occurring in these states that have stopped many labourers from returning on time.”
“Secondly, with the recent landslide in Castle Rock, many trains were cancelled and this has also affected the return of our workers. We have our nets ready, but we need workers to open up the nets and load them on the boats. These workers also play a vital role in the fishing activity and without our workers, the fishing season will be delayed for many boat owners by many days," said D’Souza.
