Proposal on

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The Department of Fisheries (DoF) has planned to place a proposal to the government for setting up a 'Fish Bank' aimed at development of the country's fishermen.

'Establishment of a Fish Bank will certainly reduce dependence of fishermen on local moneylenders who charge exorbitant interest rates. Such a bank will help the fishermen economically and socially,' a senior official of the DoF told the FE.

'Now our fishermen are bound to borrow from the local moneylenders as they haven't any alternative source of loans easily available,' he added.

The bank will provide the fishermen with economic and social security as they will get loans easily from such a bank. Fishermen generally take loans from local moneylenders when they go outside for fishing leaving their families without food and other facilities and when they return, they are forced to sell all the fishes to those moneylenders at low prices, the DoF official said.

'Our main objective for establishing such a 'Fish Bank' is to organise the country's fishermen and involve them in banking activities,' he added.

The bank can provide micro-credit to fishermen and give them other supports so that they can get maximum prices of their fishes.

The bank can also give fishermen loans for fish production, marketing and export and setting up hatcheries.

Vietnam and some Scandinavian countries have such Fish Banks that provide fishermen with loans when they go for fishing in the deep sea for a week or a month, the DoF official said.

According to the DoF, more than 2.0 million people are directly and indirectly involved in the country's fishing activities.