VASCO
The new fishing season is here and along with it the tussle between canoe and trawler owners. The Goencho Ramponkarancho Ekvott (GRE) reiterated that the government should ban trawler owners from fishing in rivers throughout the year and using LED lights and bull trawling while fishing .
The GRE has also asked politicians to refrain from targeting small traditional fishermen for venturing into the sea during the fishing ban period with motorised canoes, as supreme court directives have permitted them to go into the sea by fitting 9.9 HP motors.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, GRE General Secreatary Olencio Simoes said that GRE condemns statements by Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida and Goa Fishing Boat Owners Association (GFBOA) President and former minister Jose Philip DSouza that canoe owners had violated the fishing ban period.
“People are making statements without knowledge of the law. Only canoe owners and traditional fishermen
are engaged in fishing activities in accordance with nature. In fact, we have been demanding sustainable fishing from the last 30 years,” said Simoes.
Simoes also demanded that the fisheries department take action and suspend licences of trawlers engaged in fishing in the rivers all throughout the year, especially during the fishing ban period.
“The government is not taking any action on trawlers using LED lights and bull trawling, but is only targeting small traditional fishermen. This is because the government has not acted on the ban of fishing in the 5-km range. Once the fishing ban is over,
trawler owners will come in the 5-km radius and net fish in areas allotted to us,” said Simoes.
