With the ban on deep seafishing across the coast of Karnataka in force, fishing activity at the old port here has come to a halt.The port wears a deserted look and all mechanised boats are anchored here.The Fisheries department decided to prohibit deep sea fishing along the coast from Monday last to avoid gathering of people in fish landing centres in view of the spread of coronavirus.The department has also cut the supply of subsidised diesel to mechanised vessels at the fishing harbours in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada.The workers who were engaged in deep sea fishing are also not allowed to go to their native places during the period of ban, sources said.Meanwhile, in Udupi, fish catches in around 200 boats anchored at the Malpe port are facing the threat of rotting if they are not disposed within ten days. The catches have remained there with the sudden announcement of the lockdown.The catch is now being preserved using ice blocks which will not be available for long as all the 96 ice plants in the district have been closed in view of the lockdown, Malpe fishermen's association president Krishna S Suvarna said.
