Mangaluru: U.R. Sabhapathi, working president of All India Fishermen’s Congress and former MLA, said on Tuesday that Goa should withdraw its ban on the purchase of fish from Karnataka. Addressing presspersons here, Mr. Sabhapathi said it was a misconception by the Goa government that chemical substances were being used to preserve fish in Karnataka. Fish from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts reach Goa in about six hours. The fishermen from these two districts and Uttara Kannada use only ice to preserve the fish. These fish were transported in small trucks. “Since the journey is short, there is no need for them to use any chemical and they have never used any chemicals to preserve the fish,” he said.

A delegation of fishermen led by him had met the Fisheries Minister of Goa, Vinoda Paliencar, and Health Minister of Goa, Vishwajit Rane, in Goa on November 19 and requested them to withdraw the ban order.

Both the Ministers had said that the Goa government had not banned fish from Karnataka but imposed conditions on fish supplied from other States.

He (Mr. Sabhapathi) had told them that the officers on the Goa border did not know about the conditions and thought that there was a ban and were turning back fish-laden trucks from the State. This was resulting in loss for the fishermen of the State especially Uttara Kannada. One of the conditions of the Goa government was that it only wanted the fishermen from other States to send their fish in refrigerated trucks. But this would be very costly to the fishermen of coastal Karnataka. Both the Ministers were told about it.

The fishermen from coastal Karnataka and Goa had friendly relations for decades. The Goa government’s stand could affect these friendly relations and might result in tit-for-tat bans and this would not be in the interests of either the fishermen of Goa or coastal Karnataka.