Kollam: The fishermen of Kerala, who are fondly called the 'Army of Kerala' after their heroic rescue works during the 2018 floods, are now in dire straits. The increasing diesel prices, coupled with a hike in the government registration fee, have forced many of them to sell their boats to scrap dealers. More than 300 boats have already been sold to such scrap dealers at Rs. 40.50 per kilogram. Boat scrapping units are coming up at almost all fishing harbors in the state as more boat owners are coming forward to sell their boats to scrap dealers.
When these boats are anchored on the shore for a longer time, they get damaged due to rust and the fishermen have no other way but to sell them as scrap. The fishing sector in Kerala had just started to breathe easy again after its long struggle against adverse weather conditions and the Covid pandemic. The Kerala and Tamil Nadu coasts have seen an unprecedented number of cyclones in recent years, that had considerably reduced the number of days available for fishing. Now, they are back to square one due to the high cost of fuel. The reduction in fish catch and huge diesel cost make fishing highly unviable.
Fishermen are selling their boats to steel companies based in Palakkad and Tamil Nadu. Earlier there were only two boat scrapping yards in the Kollam district, now there are 12 such scrapping units. Two such yards have come up in Thoppumpadi in Kochi and more units are coming up at Kozhikode, Kannur, and Beypore.