Smiles lit the faces of traditional fishermen along the Salcete belt as they posted a bumper harvest of the priced solar shrimp on Monday.
After waiting for the last two days to launch the hunt for the prized solar shrimp, the traditional fishermen finally ventured out into the sea on Monday morning, only to return with a bumper catch of the shrimp.
Right from Colva beach to neighbouring Benaulim, the fishermen returned with tonnes of the prized solar shrimp. The catch was so huge that some of the fishermen pointed out that the fishing nets were damaged due to the bumper catch.
A kilogram of solar shrimp commanded a wholesale rate, ranging between Rs 100 and Rs 110. In fact, with the traditional fishermen posting a bumper harvest of the shrimp, the fish agents rushed to Benaulim and Colva to purchase the shrimp in bulk.
Sources said the solar shrimp is transported to the fish processing factories in Cochin-Kerala, which after being processed are exported to the countries in the Fast East, including Japan.
What facilitated the bumper catch was the conducive weather conditions in the sea and bright sunny weather.
Fishermen have been anxiously waiting to enter the sea in the last couple of days citing conducive weather for fishing. And, if the fishermen are to be believed, the calm waters in the sea are playing host to the solar shrimp.
A fisherman from Colva informed that he had netted a bumper catch of the solar shrimp. He thanked the Almighty for blessing the fishermen with the bumper catch, praying that his counterparts too net the shrimp in large quantities.
“I have harvested bumper solar shrimp. Even my fishing net was damaged in the process of netting the prized shrimp,” the fisherman said, as he praised the Lord for the bumper catch.
The solar shrimp is available close to the coast during this part of the monsoon and disappear around the first week of August. It’s because of this reason that the fishermen and the mechanized boat owners anxiously await to venture out into the sea to hunt for the prized shrimp.
The mechanized boat owners will venture out into the sea when the new fishing season begins on August 1.
