PANAJI
A shortage of commercial LPG cylinders has also begun to cripple fishing activity across Goa’s jetties, leaving dozens of trawlers stranded and raising fears of a spike in fish prices if supplies are not restored immediately.
At the Malim fishing jetty -- one of the State’s three major fishing hubs -- boat owners have stated the crisis has already begun to halt operations, with vessels returning from the sea unable to head back due to the absence of cooking gas required for long voyages.
President of All Goa Purse Seiners Boat Owners Association Harshad Dhond said the Malim jetty alone handles around 200 to 250 trawlers, including about 125 large boats and more than 100 smaller vessels that depend on commercial LPG cylinders to sustain crews during multi-day fishing trips.
Each large trawler, carrying a crew of 35 to 40 fishermen, requires at least five to six commercial LPG cylinders for a 10 to 12-day trip, while smaller boats require two to three cylinders, he said.
“With no supply of LPGs coming in, the boats, which are returning after the fish catch, will be stranded at the jetty. We had the stock till two days back... the backup stock across jetties has been exhausted,” Dhond said, indicating that the disruption could soon ripple into the fish market.
He said the cooperative society supplies cylinders through a grocery outlet operating at the Malim jetty, which usually distributes between 60 and 100 cylinders every day to fishing vessels preparing to sail.
Fishermen fear that prolonged disruption could paralyse fishing operations at the jetty altogether. “The situation is serious. The fishing centre is on the verge of closure. If an uninterrupted supply of commercial LPG does not resume immediately, the fishing centre will collapse,” Dhond warned.
The associations are pinning their hopes on Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who gave an assurance on the floor of the House on Wednesday that the government is in touch with the Centre.
Industry stakeholders stated that if boats remain grounded for several more days, the reduced catch landing at markets could trigger a sharp rise in fish prices across Goa. “Not only would the fish catch drastically drop, but prices of the present catch in the market would also soar,” an official at the Fisheries Department said, admitting the authorities are helpless in such a situation being a global economic crisis.
