In view of the COVID-19 crisis, deep-sea fishing boats have returned to the Old Port in Mangaluru, with the government prohibiting deep-sea fishing till further orders. This comes as a measure to prevent the assembly of a large gathering of people at Dhakke.
The Fisheries Department in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada Districts have also stopped supply of subsidised diesel to fishing boats.
According to officials, deep-sea fishing activities result in the gathering of a large number of people and is much against the government's direction on maintaining social distancing.
Fishing boats that had already ventured into the sea for fishing were allowed to return with the fish catch till Tuesday. According to the Department, the 42-Km coastline in Dakshina Kannada has 57 purse seine boats, 1,270 trawl boats, 1483 gillnet boats, 549 other mechanised boats. In addition, there are traditional crafts engaged in fishing.
There are 27 fisheries villages with 65,240 fishermen in the District.