Deep-sea fishing activities from the Old Mangalore Port (commonly known as Bunder) will start from September 1, according to Kota Srinivasa Poojary, Karnataka Minister for Fisheries.

Though the fishing holiday came to an end on July 31, fishermen from Bunder area did not start fishing activities on August 1 due to an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the region.

Speaking at a meeting held to restart fishing operations, Poojary said that nearly 75 per cent of workers in the fisheries sector are from other states. They will have to submit their applications on the Seva Sindhu portal of the Karnataka government to enter the state. Only those workers with a negative report for Covid-19 test will be allowed to enter the district.

Stating that owners of fishing boats will have to take responsibility for the health-related aspects of these workers, he said, each worker entering the state should undergo a 14-day quarantine, as per rules.

Nitin Kumar, President of Mangaluru Trawl Boat Owners’ Association, had told BusinessLine recently that the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown had forced around 5,000 labourers from states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal to go back to their native places.

Poojary also directed the stakeholders to sanitise the fish landing area in Mangaluru every day.

MJ Roopa, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada, said that retail sale of fish has been banned at the fish landing centre at Old Mangalore Port.

She said that 6,000-7,000 people visit this area every day. In such a situation, it is the duty of the fishermen’s association to conduct thermal screening of all these people and maintain social distancing in that area.

The district administration will provide training to the teams formed by the fishermen’s associations to carry out these activities, she said.

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