Two trawler owners claim losses over fish spoilage

Two trawler owners claim fish to the tune of one and half tonne and worth over lakhs of rupees has got spoilt.

Photo Credits: Anil Shankhwalker

PORVORIM

Two trawler owners namely Gaurish Salgaonkar and Avinash Shinde have alleged that  the fishing companies do not purchase their fish on account of which fish to the tune of one and half tonne and worth over lakhs of rupees have got spoilt.

Gaurish Salgaonkar and Avinash Shinde speaking to press persons  on Sunday said that the in the first place the Malim Fishermen Cooperative Marketing Society  was not prepared to register them as trawler owners.They therefore approached the Director of Fisheries and later went to the court with their plea.

The Director of Fisheries and the court directed the said marketing society to register them as trawler owners and with a request to fishing companies to purchase their fish. In spite of the instructions from the Directorate of Fisheries and the court,  the fishing companies are not purchasing their fish. The marketing society is not releasing them diesel and water too. If the fishing company do not accept their fish, then they will be forced to dump the fish in the premises of Fisheries department, said Salgaonkar and Shinde.

On contacting one of the directors of the marketing society,  on condition of anonymity he mentioned that the trawler owners cannot force the agents of the fishing companies to purchase their fish. There was bumper catch of mackerels  these days and they are forced to sell their fish to  fish mills at throw-away prices. He said that he himself is facing difficulty in disposing off his catch of mackerels and tuna  fish. He also was forced to make a distress sale and he has sold the mackerel to a fish mill for fertilizer purposes at Rs 20 per kg.

In regard to other allegations made by the duo,  as per his knowledge  after receipt of the court order the marketing society has already issued letters to the 2 trawler owners  and Directorate of Fisheries that they have no objection in their selling fish to the fishing companies. On the other hand, to enrol them as members of the marketing society they have to fill up the requisite forms and complete the formalities  as per rules,  said the director.