The second wave of Covid-19 changed fishing rules this year.
The state government on Tuesday ordered only 15 fishermen per trawler and made it mandatory for those going into the sea to have a negative Covid report or a full-vaccination certificate.
Covid risk to fishermen cooped up on trawlers was a worry for the government before allowing marine fishing this year, a fisheries official said.
Around 1,500 vessels from fishing harbours in Kakdwip, Namkhana, Raidighi, and Diamond Harbour in South 24-Parganas and over 1,000 vessels from Digha, Petuaghat (Contai), Sankarpur and a few other places in East Midnapore ventured into the sea at the end of the annual ban on Tuesday only after adhering to Covid protocols laid down by the state government.
“The three-month ban on fishing was a big relief as the Covid situation peaked during that period. Though the situation is better now, we are taking no chances and have put in place strict safety measures with the help of several fishermen’s organisations,” said Jayanta Pradhan, assistant director of fisheries (marine), South 24-Parganas district.
State fisheries department minister Akhil Giri said: “I held a meeting last week with fishermen’s associations where it was reiterated that no person will be allowed to go for marine fishing unless he is either vaccinated and or carries a negative report.”
Expressing the seriousness of the government’s intent, Giri said from Wednesday the Digha fish auction centre would resume work with strict curbs. “Anybody spotted without a face mask will pay a fine of Rs 500,” he said.
Sources in both South 24-Parganas and East Midnapore said the administration was keeping a close watch on the fishermen community, particularly after the arrival of migrant labourers from adjacent districts and some southern states. Fishermen’s organisations had been told to get fishermen and allied workers tested for Covid at government centres and debar those with symptoms from going to the sea.
Satinath Patra, secretary of the Sunderbans Samudrik Matsyajibi Shramik Union, told this paper they tried to ensure only physically fit people aged between 19 and 45 who were Covid negative or fully vaccinated were allowed.
New shipping office
Chairman of Calcutta Port, Vinit Kumar, on Tuesday inaugurated a new shipping and cargo-handling office near the Haldia dock complex’s finger jetty. Kumar took the opportunity to address recent instances of alleged theft at the port, as well as the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 on shipping and handling operations. Kumar said steps would be taken to prevent theft with optical character recognition (OCR) for number plate detection and mandatory fast tags for vehicles. He asked port officials to speed up Covid vaccination for personnel.
Additional reporting by Anshuman Phadikar
