Sindhurdug: The traditional fishermen from Malvan area of Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra are upbeat over the bumper harvest they fetched on Sunday.
The fishermen vouch that the good catch has been extremely a rare phenomenon in the current times for the traditional fishing activity which is marred with the invasion of mechanized fishing and also the climatic changes.
On Sunday, the fishermen community at Vayari beach in Malvan, were pleasantly surprised to witness huge catch of sardines and mackerel fish being netted in their traditional net.
“We have managed to catch at least 12-13 tonnes of fish today. But this is rarest of the rare happening. The fishermen are happy that they have got this bumper catch after a gap of almost three years,” said Dilip Ghare, Secretary of Sindhudurg District Rampon Sanghatana.
Ghare stated that there are 108 Rampon Associations in Sindhudurg district alone of Maharashtra involving 27,000 families.
He said that Malvan itself has 56 associations covering 10,000 to 12,000 people who are actively involved in the traditional fishing activity.
While traditional fishing activity has been slowly getting reduced in the coastal belt of Sindhudurg, it has also become a ray of hope for many who are unemployed.
Narayan Jagannath Mayekar is in his late 70s and unemployed since the time when 109-year-old Century Textiles, a part of the Basant Kumar Birla Group located at Worli, Mumbai closed down almost a decade back.
Mayekar returned back to his home town of Malvan and was jobless but found employment in the form of traditional fishing.
He now joins a group of men from his village of Vayari who goes fishing at around 4 am every day with their traditional net.
In yet another case, Rupesh Talawnekar is a graduate but found his source of income through the traditional fishing. He said that 20 per cent of the manpower which is engaged in the traditional fishing are educated but are opting for this profession as they are jobless.
“You can earn around Rs 15,000-20,000 per month if you are involved in this activity,” said Talawnekar.
The fish catch from Malvan is sold in a local market but majority of it is sent to the places like Bangalore, Huballi and Goa where the wholesalers stock it and then export it outside the country.
