The Fisheries department has opened its first restaurant serving fish dishes, ‘Kerala Seafood Cafe,’ at Azhakulam, near Vizhinjam. Minister for Fisheries Saji Cherian inaugurated the restaurant, which is run by Matsyafed, on Wednesday.
The government has plans to open seafood restaurants across the State. In the first phase, they will be opened in all 14 district headquarters. All major townships will be covered in the second phase and the panchayats in the third, Mr. Cherian said.
A seafood processing unit will be operational at Vizhinjam in two weeks, he said. The ‘Kerala Seafood Cafe’ functions in an air-conditioned, 367 sq ft building which can can seat 60 people at a time. It was built at a cost of ₹ 1.5 crore.
Traditional Kerala fish preparations aside, the restaurant also serves seafood dishes popular with tourists from abroad. Women from families in the coast affected by the Ockhi cyclone in 2017 have been given jobs at the restaurant.
Matsyafed chairman T. Manohara presided. Vengannur grama panchayat president R. S. Sreekumar, Matsyafed managing director P. Sahadevan, Fisheries director Adeela Abdulla, and Sheik Pareeth, Managing Director, Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation, were present.
