The Fisheries department has begun directly procuring fish, including the Varapuzha variety of pearlspot (karimeen), from fish workers in the Konkani-speaking Kudumbi community in Varappuzha and neighbouring areas, who are known for a unique traditional way of fishing.
The move has been initiated under the commercial ‘MIMI Fish’ initiative that is part of the government’s ‘Parivarthanam’ (transformation) project, one of the aims of which is to free traditional fish workers from exploitation by middlemen.
The programme also looks at lifting the living standards of traditional fish workers and sourcing fresh fish, which will reach consumers directly.
MIMI Fish, which is also a fish ordering application, was launched in August last year as a retail venture with online home delivery service in association with Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation. This was after the government floated ‘Parivarthanam’ in November 2020 as a pioneering eco-sustainable programme for the development of its fishing communities, said ‘Parivarthanam’ Project COO Roy V. Nagendran.
The Kudumbi community settled in Kerala three centuries ago, having migrated from Goa and other parts of the Konkan coast during the 1729-58 rule of the Travancore king Marthanda Varma. Initially farmers, they took up fishing in inland waters as a means of livelihood.
Mr. Nagendran said the Kudumbis deploy a unique way of fishing in which tender coconut leaves are strung on ropes like hanging decorations, which are then pulled through water. These white leaves scare the fish to take refuge underwater, and then are caught by bare hands by the fishers. The ‘Parivarthanam’ project also is an attempt to preserve this unique way of fishing, he added.
The Kudumbis form a large community in Varapuzha panchayat and have been involved in fishing in inland waters off Varapuzha, Kadamakkudy, Ezhikkara, Kottuvally, Cheranalloor and Mulavukad, said V. P. Denny, who has been involved in helping the fishers and is a district committee member of the CITU.
He is also involved in the procurement centre Blue Bazar in Cheranalloor near Varapuzha. Fishworkers can take their catch directly to the market for sale.
