Chennai: Seafood lovers in North Chennai can immediately buy fresh fish from Thiruvottiyur Kuppam where the State Fisheries Department builds a tuna length line port.
This new facility aims to create an exclusive anchor area for boat planning to remain in the sea for more than 25 days and to reduce the facilities in Kasimedu, a senior fisheries department official said.
With regard to the edge of the sea in the upcoming facility, the official said the department had completed two breakwaters breakers using Groynes and will begin construction of the dock and ship landing dock.
After this was completed, the authorities would turn their attention to the building building on the ground including auction hall, minimum warehouse, a fisheries department administration building and rest rooms.
“Every building will take at least a few months and in March next year we hope to complete all civil works and make Tuna Line port ready for the inauguration,” the official said.
President of the South Fishermen welfare association of India K Bharathi said the facilities in Kasimedu had room to dock 680 vessels with different sizes, but now it is home to 1,100 ships.
The number of fishermen is quite large from Thiruvottiyur, Ennore and Manali, which now reaches their ship in Kasimedu, can move once the new facility, which can accommodate 300 ships, he said.
E Raghupathi, the owner of the ship, said the fisheries department claimed that this new facility was exclusively intended for long-line fishermen, but those who had a small boat had started using that place.
As far as Chennai concerning, he said, tuna long line boat operations were difficult due to lack of skilled labor.
The fishing team that comes out to the sea on these ships must know various reasons for aggregate fish and, the most important, must be able to identify life bites to attract deep sea fish.
Such knowledge is lacking in the city, he said.
“Even if the fisheries department is ready to provide training on these problems, there are no takers,” he said.
Every ship like that must be 24 meters long, equipped with a 250hp engine and must be able to stay at sea for a minimum of 21 days and a maximum of 30 days, he said.
The main catch of long liners is yellow fin tuna, sharks and blue bread, all export oriented, Raghupathi added