Goa fishing trips halted as LPG shortage hits trawlers amid West Asia conflict

Fishing trips in Goa have halted as LPG shortage hits trawlers after West Asia conflict disrupted gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz

Panaji: Fishing trips in Goa have been halted due to a shortage of commercial liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders after the ongoing West Asia conflict disrupted liquefied natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Around 800 Goa fishing trawlers have halted trips due to LPG shortage (Representative photo)

Fishing trawlers rely on commercial LPG cylinders to cook food on board for the vessel’s staff, and without these cylinders, boats have stopped embarking on fishing trips, the president of the All Goa Purse Seine Boat Owners Association, Harshad Dhond, said.

“Each fishing trawler has a crew of around 30 to 40 men and each fishing trip usually lasts two weeks. Each trip uses around four to five gas cylinders. We had stock until yesterday, which ran out today. This means trawlers have stopped setting out to sea until they can procure the cylinders,” Dhond told reporters.

“Fish is going to become scarce over the next few days,” he added.

There are around 800 trawlers that set off from Goa’s three main jetties: Malim (Mandovi Jetty), Vasco da Gama and Cutbona (South Goa).

The threat to fish supply comes not just from the cessation of fishing activity but also from restaurants and beach shacks.

Shack owners have said they have removed heat-intensive items from the menu and are instead prioritising dishes that can either be grilled over coals or cooked in wood-fired tandoor ovens.

“Some items that absolutely need heated pans, like Chinese and fried dishes, are taken off the menu in favour of items that can be cooked over a slow fire, such as gravies on an induction cooker. Some restaurants are shut down while many others might have to do so over the coming days,” president of the All Goa Shack Owners Association Cruz Cardoso said.

The Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, the apex body representing the state’s tourism-dependent businesses, said the chief minister’s assurances that Goa has enough stock to last for 25 days have failed to cut ice with the industry, which continues to not receive supply from commercial distributors.

“The majority of restaurants, beach shacks and catering services rely on LPG for their businesses. A 25-day stockpile will probably not be sufficient and is threatening to affect Goa’s economy,” the association’s secretary, Amey Naik, said.

They demanded that commercial LPG supply be made available to all establishments, that the government engage in dialogue with the Centre and suppliers and the distribution network, prepare a backup plan, and ensure strict monitoring to prevent cylinders from being diverted to the black market.

On Thursday, Dr V. Candavelou, IAS, chief secretary, reviewed the LPG supply situation in the state with representatives of oil companies IOCL, HPCL and BPCL, along with senior state officials, and clarified that priority consumers such as defence establishments, educational institutions and hospitals are exempted from the restrictions.