As the fish export ban imposed by Goa has hit the fishing community in Karnataka, the State has requested the Goa Government to lift the ban to help fishing community in the State. In a letter written by Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy to his Goa counterpart Manohar Parrikar asking him to lift the blanket ban on fish import from the State. He said crackdown has caused “huge losses” to the fishermen from the southern State.
In a letter, Kumaraswamy said: “I request you to kindly permit transportation and trading activities of fish between the two States and the ban order issued by the State of Goa may be kept on hold till we comply with FDA regulation.
"It is requested that this blanket ban may be withdrawn... Karnataka will ensure that the fish traders comply with the FDA regulations and obtain a certificate after meeting the required standards," the letter added.
The letter, which was received by CM Parrikar's office on November 29, also said fisher folk from three coastal districts in Karnataka — Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi — who harvest a catch of nearly 4.10 lakh tonne every year, were now facing huge losses on account of the ban.
The letter said "The fishermen have been taken by surprise by the sudden ban on fish trade to the State of Goa. This has resulted in huge losses by the coastal fishermen and lot of unrest among the fishermen community."
According to sources the formalin used in the fish after Food and Drugs Administration team found traces of the carcinogenic cadaver preservative in fish sold in Goa.
A BJP delegation from Karnataka also met the Goa leaders to appease them of the issue. The ban also hiked the fish prices in Goa. According to sources some of the traders in Goa with the political nexus have imported formalin laced fish consignments in to Goa from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. This has become a major political controversy and hope the ban will be lifted to ease tension between Karnataka and Goa. The official nexus with the fish mafia is the root cause for the trade off between two States.
The fisherman from coastal districts of Udupi, Dakshina Kannada Uttara Kannada( bordering Goa) are hit very badly with fish ban imposed by Goa. They are pressurising the Government to take up the issue with the Goa Government. Kumaraswamy’s initiative is seen as trying to diffuse the tense situation in the coastal districts.