the goan I network
PANAJI
The monsoon is usually a friend of the traditional fishing community living in fishing villages spread across the 105-kilometer coast from Pernem in the north to Canacona in the South as the fishing fields in the Arabian are exclusively theirs owing to the breeding season ban on mechanised trawling.
Not this year though when an unruly monsoon robbed hundreds of Ramponkar families across Goa’s coast of the opportunity to reap their annual bonanza in June-July when they rule not just the fishing grounds but also the markets.
Depressions, storms and semi-cyclonic conditions forbade traditional fishing activity in half of June and the whole of July, according to Camilo Souza from Cansaulim.
It was a situation that confronted by far the entire coast and fishermen.
Despite the temptations to reap the bonanza, we concluded the risks were too high to venture out in our outboard motors-powered canoes even if the returns are high,” Souza told The Goan.
Goa’s fish markets year after year face an acute scarcity in this period owing to the ban
on trawler operations. And, in a situation where demand is way higher than supply, the catch of the traditional fishing community fetches premium prices.
According to rough estimates, a community of about a dozen ramponkar families in Caranzalem rake in over a crore of rupees in these two months which accounts for nearly 70 per cent of their annual earnings. This year, however, they are staring at a difficult economic situation in their homes for the rest of the year owing to the disruption of their activity by the weather.
The situation of ramponkar communities in over 25 coastal fishing villages in Morjim, Mandrem, Anjuna, Calangute and Candolim in North Goa was not much different from what those in Caranzalem faced.
Fishermen who operate along the Zuari river at Naushem and Cacra, however were better placed as the effect of the monsoon fury was much weaker in the river’s waters and their traditional fishing operations were not as badly affected.
In South Goa too, the traditional fishermen at Velsao, Cansaulim Majorda, Colva, Benaulim and right up to Cavelossim faced the same problems as did the communities living along the coast of Canacona.
Souza, who is a functionary of the Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott and resides in Cansaulim, said that the catch of prized variety of fish including the premium white pomfrets, rays, king-fish and other sought after species, was negligible this year.
Even the prized ‘solar’ shrimp didn’t find its way to the local markets due to the weather-triggered disruption in the ramponkar’s operations, Souza said.
For decades, Goa’s ramponkars have been up in arms against their marginalisation in the fisheries sector by the larger operations of the mechanised trawlers.
After many an agitation and numerous court battles, the 60-day ban was imposed on mechanised boats fishing during the June-July period on the scientific basis that the breeding pattern when many species head to shallower waters is not disturbed.
Souza said, the Supreme Court however has allowed traditional fishermen to continue their operations in these two months upholding the argument that their less than 10 hp motor-powered canoes and the type of nets they use were incapable of upsetting the fish-breeding conditions.
“It is this Supreme Court order that permitted us exclusive right over the coastal fishing grounds as well as the market place. But this year the weather ruined our fortunes,” Souza added.
