VASCO: The fishing jetty at Kharewado-Vasco was abuzz with activity on Monday evening, with trawler owners and crew busy getting ready for the start of the fishing season on Wednesday, thereby ending the 61-day fishing ban.
But with most trawler owners still awaiting the arrival of labourers, only a few trawlers are expected to set out to the sea in the wee hours of Wednesday.
While some owners were found checking with the labourers for necessary documents, others were seen supervising the loading of huge nets on their boats.
Some trawlers owners have also loaded dry provisions on board trawlers as they get ready to venture into the deep sea for their first catch of the season, post the fishing ban period.
However, a big issue of concern for most was the scarcity of labourers.
According to Goa Fishing Boat Owners Association (GFBOA) President Jose Philip D’Souza, only about 15-20 trawlers are expected to venture out to sea on Wednesday, given the shortage of labourers.
“Many labourers feared coming to work at the Vasco fishing jetty due to police patrolling, as many labourers were picked up by the cops during the last season for open defecation or lack of proper tenant verification forms,” said D’Souza, adding that they had requested Fisheries Minister Vinoda Paliencar to direct Vasco police to exercise restraint while picking up labourers working on trawlers.
“The boat owners are willing to give undertaking to the police with names of labourers working on our trawlers so that in case of any issue, we may be contacted instead of picking our labourers and taking them to the police station,” said D’Souza.
“Our business is dependent on labourers and if we don’t get them, we may suffer heavy losses,” he added.
He also informed that necessary permission to load diesel in trawlers would be issued by the fisheries department on Tuesday.
