MAPUSA
The ubiquitous Visvon, or Kingfish, which usually dominates Goa’s fish markets at this time of the year, is conspicuous by its absence this monsoon season, leaving fishermen, boat owners and fish vendors divided over what is keeping the prized catch away.
While some attribute the shortage to erratic weather and rough sea conditions, others point to a more immediate problem – a large number of fishing boats have remained anchored at jetties due to a shortage of labour. Fish vendors, meanwhile, say the reduced fishing activity has directly affected supplies to the markets.
President of the All Goa Fishing Boat Owners Association (AGFBOA) Jose Philip D’Souza said changing weather patterns appeared to have affected the availability of Kingfish. “Every year at this time we used to get a lot of Kingfish, but this year it appears that due to erratic weather conditions, the king of fish is not available in large numb ers,” D’Souza said. He said the late arrival of the monsoon and changing wind patterns had altered sea conditions, making fishing more difficult. However, D’Souza expects the situation to improve once conditions stabilise. But All Goa Purse Seiners Boat Owners Association president Harshad Dhond offered a different explanation, arguing that the shortage has less to do with the availability of fish and more to do with the number of boats actually going out to sea.
“Not even five per cent of the boats from Panaji have gone out into the sea. In fact, there is no fish of any variety in the fish market,” Dhond said.
According to him, a shortage of migrant fishing labour is keeping boats at the jetties. Workers from Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Odisha, who traditionally form a significant part of the fishing workforce, have reportedly not returned in sufficient numbers because delayed monsoons in their home States pushed back agricultural activity. Dhond expects fishing activity to pick up after the first week of September, when more boats are likely to venture into the sea and supplies could improve. D’Souza, however, questions whether the labour shortage alone can explain the disappearance of Kingfish.
“If most of the boats have not gone into the sea, then the few which have gone should have got a bumper harvest of Kingfish or other fish. But this is not happening,” he said, attributing the poor catch to rough seas and other weather-related factors. Mapusa Fish Vendors Association president Shashikala Govekar also linked the shortage to the labour crunch, saying fewer boats at sea had inevitably resulted in reduced supplies to the market.
Veteran fisherman Francisco Fernandes, popularly known as Pele, however, blames another factor – LED fishing. He alleged that intensive LED fishing by large trawlers was depleting fish stocks and depriving traditional fishermen of catches. “LED fishing has robbed the ubiquitous Visvon from our plates. It is not only outstation fishermen but some Goans who are also involved in LED fishing,” Fernandes alleged.
He also accused the Fisheries Department of failing to act firmly against illegal LED fishing, alleging a nexus with the powerful trawler lobby.
For consumers, however, the debate over the cause offers little consolation. The missing Visvon is already being felt in fish markets, and its return may depend on a combination of improved weather, availability of fishing labour and greater fishing activity in the weeks ahead.
