Dwindling catch leaves Saurashtra fishermen jobeless

Situated on the western sea line of the country, fish is Gujarat's prominent produce. Rich in a variety of fish species of high food value, the state trades in fish like pamphret, jew, Bombay duck, prone, lobsters kattal, silchar etc.

But the reality is not so rosy. The scarcity of fish in the Suarashtra coastline has rendered the many of the small-scale fishermen of the area unemployed.

Small-scale fishermen of Saurashtra have to fight against the well-equipped big ships, permitted by the government, which use latest machinery and have the means to store the big bulk of catch, leaving nothing for the traditional fishermen. This has left the 70 per cent of the small-scale fishermen of Saurashtra sea line, including Porbandar, in penury.

According to Premjibhai Khokhari, of Gujarat Forum, a ship permitted by the government for fishing, fetch away an entire fish stock which can satisfy the need of many fishermen. Besides, the heavy sea pollution in the area has made the fish go far deep into the sea to avoid the coastlines further depleting the fish stock.

Around 2.2 lakh fishermen of Saurashtra and Gujarat coastline connected with fishing industry with their 18,000 fishing boats are facing scarcity in their catchment area. Khokhari said that the issue has been presented to the higher authorities. He also demanded that the officials should take necessary action to guarantee right price for their products.

Last year, Gujarat sold fish and allied products for a record Rs 738.69 crore. Fish and fish products are mainly exported to China, the US, Japan and the European countries. The Director of Fisheries in Rajkot said that the state produces about 7 lakh tonne and out of this 1 lakh tonne is exported to foreign countries, earning around Rs 500 crore.

From April, 2002 to January, 2003, Junagadh district of Suarashtra topped the fish producing area with total produce of 2.46 lakh tonne. The total Suarashtra production was 4.6 lakh tonne.

Though there are ample scope of developing marine exports, lack of processing units in Saurashtra coastline have crippled the growth.

Hareshbhai Dave, director of Fisheries Department in Rajkot said that the state should make use of the different projects offered by the central and state government.