Panaji: Fishing activity resumed at Caranzalem beach on Tuesday with the village’s traditional fishermen recording what they described as a bumper catch of around 1.2 to 2 tonnes of fish, making it their first major catch since the start of the season on Aug 1.Manuel Francisco Po, secretary of the Caranzalem Ramponkar Ekvott, said that a total of 19 fishermen were involved in Tuesday’s fishing activity.“We had been waiting for favourable sea conditions before resuming regular fishing operations. The sea conditions have now improved sufficiently for us to begin operations,” he told TOI.The fishermen are expected to retain the catch at the beach for local sale. “The fish caught on Tuesday would not be sent to the Panaji market, with buyers instead expected to purchase the catch directly at Caranzalem,” Po said.The return of fishing activity has also brought relief to the ramponkar community at the beach, as Tuesday’s catch is being seen not merely as a good haul but as an encouraging start to the new fishing season for the Caranzalem fishing community.“Fishing preparations will continue over the next couple of days. The fishermen are expected to continue keeping the catch at the beach on Wednesday and Thursday, following which regular fishing activities will begin,” Po said.
