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Rising cost of fuel — diesel and kerosene — has hampered the daily operations of Kerala’s traditional and mechanised fisheries sector.
Joseph Xavier Kalapurackal, general secretary of All Kerala Fishing Boat Owners Association, said diesel prices have zoomed by about ₹10 per litre in the last one and a half months, forcing many boat owners to cut down operations at Cochin Harbour. The dwindling catch due to global warming is adding to their woes.
At 1,500 litres for a three-day fishing venture, the fuel cost alone totals ₹1.5 lakh. The boat operator has to spend an additional ₹2 lakh towards ice for storage, wages, and so on. The reduced catch in the territorial waters forces operators to venture deeper into the seas, which requires 3,000 more litres of fuel.
The slump in business and rising debt make it difficult for the operations to raise more funds. The neighbouring Tamil Nadu government has extended subsidies on fuel for fishing boats, but the Kerala government has not offered anything yet, Kalapurackal said.
He questioned why fishing boats, which operate exclusively on water, were being charged a road cess.
Cut in subsidised allocation
Charles George, president of Kerala Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi, said the traditional fishing sector was hit hard by the frequent hikes in kerosene prices and the cut in supply of subsidised kerosene to 26,000 kilolitres for three months from 28,000 kilolitres. The open market price is ₹125 per litre, as against the subsidised rate of ₹80.
He contrasted this with the unrestricted supply of subsidised kerosene to the traditional fishing sector in Tamil Nadu. The reduced catch in coastal waters during the January-May period has forced traditional fishing communities to go deeper into the seas, pushing up their fuel requirement.
The association wants the Kerala Government to ask the Centre to restore uninterrupted supply of kerosene at reduced rates for the traditional fishing sector.
“Already there has been a raw material shortage for the seafood sector due to a combination of factors, and the present move by boat owners will further hit availability of wild caught varieties from the west coast,” said Alex K Ninan, president of Seafood Exporters Association of India-Kerala Region. He added that the development comes at a time of surging post-Covid demand for marine products in several overseas destinations.
Moreover, the lockdown in several Chinese ports has affected shipping schedules and worsened the shortage of containers. This coupled with high freight cost and congestion at Colombo Port have added to the woes of seafood exporters, he said.
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