Marine exports may lose Rs 300 cr on trawling ban

The marine export industry is expected to lose Rs 300 crore business following the Supreme Court's decision to extend the ban on trawling till August 15, according to industry sources.

Shrimp exports stood at Rs 7,245 crore in 2005-06. This year, the target was Rs 7,500 crore. The apex court had extended the ban in its order passed on July 17.

According to A J Tharakan, president, Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI), the court's decision has come as a big blow to the industry as the ban was expected to be lifted by July 31 and exporters were gearing up to meet their commitments.

K G Lawrence, Geo Seafood, said the permission for boats equipped with below 10 BHP motors to go for fishing will not help much as such kind of vessels are rare in Kerala.

The ban on trawling will hit availability of fishes, especially the kind of variety which are available in plenty during the June-August season. Fishes such as Cuttle fish, Lizard fish, Thread Fin Bream, Groupers, Squid, Reef Code and Ribbon fish are abundant during June-August period and owing to the extension of the ban, these high-valued products will not be available, sources added.

Anwar Hashim, a Kerala-based exporter, said the Supreme Court's decision may result in cancellation of orders from European and the US markets.

Sources at SEAI said the association was not planning to file a review petition owing to time constraints. But the order has created a panic situation in Kerala, especially in the coastal belt of the state. Kerala government is seriously thinking to file a review petition in order to revoke the order.

Kerala has around 4,500 trawling vessels and around 2 lakh people depend on them for their livelihood. The extension of ban will create financial problems for the fishing community. Some political sources expect even law and order problem in these areas.

Josssy Palliparambil, co-ordinator, Green Seas, a voluntary organization functioning in the fishing sector, said there should be legislation in the Parliament for uniform trawling ban. The Supreme Court had not factored in the varied situations prevailing in coastal areas of different states, he said.

He said in Kerala, trawling has been banned for 45 days since 1994 and there had been a consensus among the various sectors in fishing industry. The latest decision would definitely upset the planning of most of the marine exporters. He also said during the ban, foreign fishing vessels are siphoning off valuable marine products from the Indian seas.

This had been the practice for the last few years, but no serious action had been taken to curb this. The extension will be a boon for them,he said.

However, traditional fishermen in Kerala welcomed the court decision as this would help to limit the over utilisation of the marine sources. Lal Koyilparambil, a local fisherman, said the decision would be beneficial to the fishing sector since there had been overutilisation of marine sources for the last few years.

M K Ashik, a trawling boat owner of Kochi, however, said the decision would hit supply of high-value products such as shrimps, which are available during July and August.