MARGAO
With just five days to go for the new fishing season to commence on August 1, the hustle and bustle is slowly returning at South Goa’s largest fishing hub – the Cutbona fishing jetty.
Migrant workers from Odisha have hit the jetty in the last few days. Fishing nets are being unloaded from vehicles at the jetty. A couple of workers were seen carrying out maintenance work, including painting the vessels and doing carpentry work, indicating that the mechanized boat owners operating from the Cutbona fishing jetty are gearing up for the new fishing season.
Boat owners pointed out that migrant labourers from Odisha have reported at the Cutbona fishing jetty in the last few days.
Though the manpower that has reported at the jetty is small in number, the boat owners exuded confidence that the workers will come in droves on the eve of the fishing season.
The Cutbona fishing jetty plays host to the around 5,000-strong migrant workforce during the peak fishing season given that the fishing industry is dependent on manpower from Odisha, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and other states.
The boat owners, however, are keeping their fingers crossed whether all the fishing boats will venture out into the sea on August 1. For, they say that cyclonic weather conditions have been predicted in the first week of August, which may come in the way of the beginning of the new season.
In the past, the mechanized boat owners were raring to go on day one of the fishing season to net the prized solar shrimp. Some of the boat owners, however, pointed out that those were the days when the fleet of motorized canoes was small in numbers.
Former president of Cutbona Boat Owners Union Cypriano Cardozo pointed out that the boat owners are gearing up for the new fishing season.
“The workers have started reporting at Cutbona so far. But, the majority of the workers have still not landed at the jetty. We are hopeful the workers will report to the jetty on time,” he said.
He added: “Though the boat owners are gearing up for the new season, all would depend on the weather conditions. We have been told that rough weather conditions may prevail in the first week of August”.
Another former president of the Cutbona Boat Owners Union Savio D’Silva said the mechanized boat owners are gearing up for the new season.
"The workers are reporting at the jetty in small numbers. Besides, we do not know what lies in store for us on the weather front in the first week of August,” he said.
The boat owners are also worried over the status of the navigation channel at the mouth of the river Sal.
“We are closely monitoring the state of the channel at the river mouth. The fishing season for the mechanized boats operating from the Cutbona fishing jetty also depends on the navigation channel at the river mouth,” Cardozo added.
Toilet block at Cutbona still locked
THE GOAN NETWORK
MARGAO
With migrant crew reporting at the Cutbona fishing jetty, though in small numbers, the newly-built toilet block at the fisheries complex, remains closed.
Boat owners said the lone toilet block operated by Sulabh International has been opened for use in the last couple of days, but the newly-commissioned toilet block stands locked to date.
The boat owners have requested the Fisheries department not only to open the toilet block but to ensure they put a system in place for their upkeep and maintenance.
