Bad weather pushes start of fishing season in Goa to mid-Sep

Panaji: The fishing season has been further delayed and is now expected to commence by mid-Sep due to adverse weather conditions. Fisheries minister Nilkanth Harlankar said that there are no plans to source fish from neighbouring states to meet local demand during this delay.

“We cannot fight nature. We will have to wait until the weather improves,” he said.The seasonal fishing ban, imposed annually by Goa govt from June 1 to July 31, restricts the use of mechanical propulsion, trawl nets, and purse seine nets along the sea coast and territorial waters. While the ban was lifted on Aug 1, fishing operations have not yet fully resumed as workers from other states usually arrive after Aug 15. However, since Ganesh Chaturthi was in Aug as well, less than 50% of the operations commenced.“Now, even though almost 80% of the mechanised boats are ready to begin fishing, adverse weather conditions have forced vessels to remain anchored,” said Harshad Dhond, president of All Goa Purse Seine Trawler Owners’ Association. “While there are experienced labourers, many of the new recruits lack the training required to navigate tough sea conditions or even cast nets effectively. We therefore cannot take the risk.

Even bigger purse seine boats are grounded, and smaller mechanised boats are unable to venture out,” he said.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for Goa on Sep 4 and 5, warning of heavy rainfall at several locations across the state. Additionally, squally weather conditions with winds reaching 40-50kmph, gusting up to 60kmph, are expected along and off the south Maharashtra coast until Sep 6. As per the alert, fishermen are strongly advised not to venture into these areas during this period.“We have been informed that the weather will remain unfavourable until Sep 14, so we will have to wait until then,” a boat operator from Malim said.