Development of a tuna-fishing port in Chennai, India, has started again after a court lifted a suspension on construction activities.
Work at the INR 2 billion (USD 27 million, EUR 22 million) port at Tiruvottiyur Kuppam was put on hold following an order from the National Green Tribunal issued six months ago, after it received a petition against the port. The court has decided to lift the suspension after fisheries officials explained the national need for the project, The Times of India reported 20 December.
Now work at two breakwaters at the port has been resumed in full and authorities in charge of the project say they hope to complete work in the next month, creating a large protected bay for fishing vessels to safely dock and unload fish.
Construction at the port, which will have capacity to hold 800 vessels including deep-sea trawlers, merchandized boats, and smaller vessels, has a planned completion date of October 2021. Wharfs, jetties, a net-mending shed, auction hall, boat repair shed, administrative block, and rest rooms are planned for a secondary phase of construction. A retail market will also be constructed within the project area if there is land left for it.
The need for the new port exclusively for larger tuna-fishing vessels arises as the existing port at Kasimedu, about 3.5 kilometers away from the new one, has become congested. The region’s tuna catch from its 300 fishing vessels is around 1,000 metric tons (MT) per day, The Times of India quoted government data as saying. The country’s total landings of tuna and tuna-like species rose 3.5 percent year-on-year to estimated 208,928 MT in 2018, according to a report the Indian government filed with the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC).
Last year, India’s Department of Fisheries sent an objection to an IOTC interim plan for rebuilding the yellowfin tuna stock in the Indian Ocean. India asked the IOTC to ensure equity and democratic processes, and let “the voices of the smaller countries be heard.”
Despite a huge coastline and exclusive economic zone, India is a small player in the global tuna trade. The South Asian nation asked the management body to facilitate the creation of a level playing field in yellowfin tuna fishing through fair regulations.
Photo courtesy of malayali/Shutterstock
