The Fisheries department has decided to impose the annual trawling ban between the midnight of June 9 and July 31.
The 52-day ban is part of measures being undertaken to conserve marine fisheries resources during the monsoon, which is considered the spawning period for the commercially important fish species off the coast of Kerala, that include oil sardines. The decision was taken at a meeting of fisheries stakeholders with officials in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.
While the ban is applicable to trawlers, traditional boats are exempted from its purview. All fuel supply bunkers for trawling boats will shut down on June 9, Fisheries department sources said. They added that the coastal police and Fisheries officials would be vigilant against violation of trawling ban.
