The Hindu Business Line : Lakshadweep gets nod for 100-t fishing vessel buy

Kochi, Nov. 24 Following the sanction by the Finance Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Centre has approved the acquisition of a 100-tonne fishing mother vessel to the Union Territory of Lakshadweep at a cost of Rs 30 crore.

The news of acquiring the mother vessel has brought cheer to the fishing community of the islands and it would be a watershed in the history of fisheries in Lakshadweep. The mother vessel would be the mother of future fisheries in Lakshadweep, said Mr B.V. Selvaraj, the Administrator to the territory.

The Lakshadweep Administration would be breaking new path in the fisheries sector by bringing in the first mother vessel, which all the other coastal regions in the country can emulate. Mother vessels and factory vessels have revolutionised the fishing industries of several maritime countries, including immediate neighbours such as Maldives.

Long distances and lack of proper storage facilities have been hampering the exploitation of fishing resources from the northern islands of Lakshadweep as well as along reefs such as Cheriyapani and Valiyapani, an official spokesman for the Administration said.

“The further they move out, the more fish they catch. But more of it gets wasted due to the long periods in transit and absence of processing and preservation,” he added.

Facilities onboard

Mother vessels with facilities for freezing and cold storage are an ideal option for enhancing the fish production from the islands. The vessel is expected to have facilities such as plate freezers, blast freezers and cold storage for processing the fish and keeping it fresh for longer periods of time. It could also help in taking a large number of smaller fishing boats to distant fishing grounds on a 10-15 day trip.

The smaller boats would do the fishing activity while the mother vessel would undertake the storage, provision of fuel and water and so on. This would also enhance the operational efficiency of the smaller crafts as they gain time from the frequent transport of produce to the islands.

Employment generation

Fisheries are the biggest employment generator of the islands, offering employment to over 50 per cent of the working population. Over 8,000 are engaged in fishing activity. Fish landings have not grown significantly over the years in the islands from 10,355 tonnes in 1997 worth Rs 17.10 crore to Rs 11,751 tonnes worth Rs 23.50 crore in 2006.

Tuna, with its high export potential continues to be the biggest component, accounting for 73 per cent of the total catch.

Mother vessels would aid in organised exploitation of the resources in the distant fishing grounds. This would further encourage development of fishery-based industries in Lakshadweep and would lead to diversification from production of only ‘masmin’ and dried fish to many commercially important and export quality fishing products such as sashmi and other frozen value added products from the islands, Mr Selvaraj said.

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