Boat owners want TED trial period and subsidy for device

Most of the state’s roughly 3,500 trawler operators have taken the position that they should be given a year to test devices to extrude turtles into fishing nets.

Speaking at a stakeholder meeting and workshop jointly organized by the Marine Products Export Development Authority and the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology on July 18, the boat owners described the U.S. ban on fishing for wild shrimp as a serious issue.

One of the key issues facing boat owners is the cost of installing TEDs. “The expense of TEDs will increase the burden, while margins have plummeted over the years,” said a boat owner on the sidelines of the meeting. Boat owners like him want the government to provide a significant subsidy for installing the devices.

However, some boat owners have sent a memorandum to Minister of State for Fisheries George Kurian, describing the ban as a “trick” by the Southern Shrimp Alliance. A group of trawl boat owners, under the banner of the All Kerala Boat Operators’ Association, wants the Ministry of Commerce and Trade and the Ministry of External Affairs to take steps to convince their American counterparts that Indian fishermen are not taking action that endangers sea turtles.