52-day trawling ban to begin in Kerala from today

In Kerala, the 52-day ban on monsoon trawling operations by mechanised boats along the state's coast will come into effect from midnight tonight. The ban will be in force till July 31. Traditional inboard fishing boats have been exempted from the purview of the ban.

The state government has instructed fishing vessels from other states to leave the Kerala coast before midnight. Free rations will be provided to fishers of trawling boats and indirect workers dependent on them. Round-the-clock



fisheries control rooms have been set up in all coastal districts.

Diesel bunks at fisheries harbours and fish landing centres will remain closed for the entire duration of the ban.

The state government has been enforcing the fishing holiday since 1988, to lessen the impact of fishing practices on marine ecology. It is designed to coincide with the fish breeding season, thus contributing to the replenishment of marine fisheries resources.