Concern over flight of fishing boats unfounded, say boat owners

‘Only temporary disruption as many Tamil Nadu fishers had gone home to celebrate holidays’

Concern over the possible flight of fishing boats from the Thoppumpady fisheries harbour, mostly manned by fishers from Tamil Nadu from centres like Thengapattanam, Thuthoor, Nagapattanam and Rameshwaram, is unfounded, say All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators' Association.

Joseph Xavier Kalapurackal of the Association said that the there had been a temporary disruption in operations as many of the fishers from Tamil Nadu gone back to their homes to celebrate occasions like August 15, which is considered a major holiday for the fishers from the coastal area. He also said that the Tamil Nadu government offered substantial subsidy on diesel price, which had attracted the fishers to harbours like Thengapattanam. However, most of the fishing operations took place off the coast of Kerala and Karnataka, which would continue to attract the fishing boats to Kochi.