Karwar: Trawler Owners performed puja in the trawlers anchored at Baithkol fishing harbour near Karwar ahead of the fishing season, as deep water fishing is all set to begin on Saturday. 
Deep sea fishing was banned for trawlers from May 1 to July 31. The breeding season for fish starts in rainy season. So, the government used to impose ban on deep sea fishing for 45 days every year starting from July 15. But this year, the ban on deep sea fishing was for 60 days.
With just two days left for the new fishing season to begin, the owners of the trawlers are busy making last-minute preparations. “We have performed puja to the trawler at auspicious muhurthum, so that it should not get into trouble when it takes to sea, says, Suresh Harikantra, owner of a trawler.
As local manpower is in short supply, the fishing boat owners are busy creating a reserve pool of skilled labourers including in their plans, people from Odisha and Uttar Pradesh who are demanding a hefty advance.
The owners pay the labourers on a profit sharing basis. The owner of the trawler takes a part of the profit while the rest is distributed between the labourers. The person driving the trawler (Tandla) and the harrowman (the one who identifies the location of fish) get a major share in the profit. There are over 2,500 fishing trawlers in the district.
Prawn lovers get ready to feast
Early on in the fishing season, shrimps are a prized catch both for the fishermen and the consumer. Tiger prawns and white prawns make an early appearance in the market and fishermen make good money from these seafood delicacies.
The trawlers from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada will take up deep sea fishing from Aug 1, says, Ganapati Mangre, district president of fish merchants’ union.
