The Hindu Business Line : Kerala: Minister sympathetic but `helpless'

THE Fisheries Minister, Mr Dominic Presentation, has conveyed to the fishing boat owners in the State its incapability in dealing positively with their demands for subsidised fuel and a `floor price' for the catch, among others.

Speaking to presspersons here, the Minister sought to know how the Government could provide them fuel at subsidised rates when it has not been able to ensure sufficient supplies even for the traditional fishermen.

The demand for fixing a `floor price' too was impractical if only for the fact that fish is a perishable commodity that witnesses fluctuating prices depending on export demand. For instance, the Minister said, if an exporter is urgently in need of a few tonnes to fill a container awaiting shipment, he will pay any price to procure his requirement from the market. Prices will have to come down no sooner than the next day.

Boat owners have also been demanding that traditional fishermen too be banned from going to the sea during the time of the trawling ban that coincides with the southwest monsoon. But traditional fishermen deserve to get their due when there is a good catch to be had, the Minister reasoned.

The boat owners, on the other hand, are actually entrepreneurs who have had surplus money to invest in a sector that would generate profits. They do not strictly belong to the fishing community that is dependent on its trade for a living. Already, traditional fishermen have been demanding that they be given full rights to the sea because it has been their only means of sustenance.

The Government's priority is to see that the benefits reach the traditional fishermen for the aforesaid reasons. "I am willing to talk to the boat owners, but have no idea how the Government can meet their demands," the Minister said.