Now, dine out at outer sea

KOCHI: Ever wondered how it would be to munch on freshly cooked fish crumbs sitting on a boat in the middle of the wide blue sea? Well, that would exactly be what many of us would be doing if a proposal with the Ernakulam District Tourism Promotional Council is to go through.‘Deep Sea Fishing’ as the proposal is called looks at a one-day trip to the sea in fishing trawlers for tourists and visitors. The journey, which would have Fort Kochi as its boarding point, will be around five hours both ways. Through the journey, the tourists will also be given a chance to fish, cook them and dine.“When you travel around two-and-a-half kilometres, you will be able to see the shipping channels. That in itself is a delight to watch, with ships moving in the sea like vehicles on the road. There is already a lot of demand for a trip to the sea both from foreign and domestic tourists for this kind of a trip to the sea. With the major hangout areas and the traffic getting more and more congested by the day, this kind of a project is bound to be a success,” said Fort Kochi Councillor Antony Kureethara.But though there is no doubt about the demand for the project, security is a major concern. “As of now tourists and visitors do not have permission to travel on trawlers or go fishing. On an average 30 persons can travel on a trawler. But according to the rules, all the thirty have to be fishermen. We are trying to negotiate with the authorities to relax the rules and accommodate ten tourists in a 30-member trawler.  So that in every trawler there will be ten tourists and 20 fishermen,” said a senior officer from the Ernakulam DTPC.