Mangaluru : The government has prohibited deep sea fishing across the State’s coastline from Monday till further orders to prevent assembly of large gatherings at Dhakkes (fish landing points) in view of COVID-19.

The Fisheries Department in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts have issued individual orders prohibiting all kinds of deep sea fishing activities. They have also stopped supply of subsidised diesel to mechanised vessels at the designated fishing harbours in these districts.

The department has said that deep sea fishing activities result in gathering of large number of people at Dhakkes and go against the government directive on maintaining social distancing. Hence, it was necessary to restrain such activities till further orders.

Fishing vessels that have already ventured into the sea are allowed to return with the catch till Tuesday, the government has said. Mangaluru Trawl Boat Owners Association president Nithin Kumar told The Hindu that the Fisheries Department has cautioned against venturing into the sea. The department has also said that diesel would not be made available to mechanised vessels. It was aimed at preventing gathering of hundreds of people at Dhakkes at ports, he said and added that many traders from Kerala too arrived in Mangaluru to procure fish.