Confusion is likely to prevail over the licencing authority for water sports facilities in Canacona, with the Captain of Ports( CoP) and the Tourism Department both affirming their right to control and regulate tourism activities along the coast.
Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte during his recent interaction with boat owners engaged in tourism activities assured to form an association of boat owners to operate water sports in the State and to control/regulate their tourism activities.
The minister also informed the Canacona boat owners that the government will not only open a counter at the respective beaches, but also set up an app-based booking system to facilitate and regulate various types of water sports in Canacona as well.
According to sources, there are over 150 fibre boats, mostly belonging to the fishing community and also used for fishing activities during the season, which are part of water sports and mostly used for dolphin/sight-seeing trips in the sea and backwaters of Canacona coast. Besides, a number of kayaks are rented out to tourists as part of water sports facilities.
On the other hand,the CoP has already issued 125 licences for water sports activities, which includes Dolphin Trips and renting of kayaks, to locals along the Canacona coast.
“Boat trips or Dolphin Trips, as it is called, had been operated in a very unorganised and dangerous manner. Ever since we came to know about the tourism potentials for the coastal traditional fishing community, the Captain of Ports (CoP), as part of its ambitious project of Coastal Local Community Development, began to regulate the water sports activity by issuing licences on certain pre-conditions to ply boats for water sports,” informed CoP Dy Director Olencio Rodrigues.
Rodrigues said that the initial one-time cost to obtain a CoP licence is around Rs 12,000, including charges for plan/site drawing and annual renewal fees of Rs 2,000.
He added the applicant should be from a coastal local community with a certified ‘Tandel’ to operate the boat, should compulsorily have sufficient numbers of life jackets, life-buoy, fire-extinguisher.
For any fresh application, he said the local applicant should necessarily come through the association to ensure that basic terms and conditions are not violated.
However, many boat owners, especially from the traditional fishing community, are reportedly at loggerheads with the CoP for denying them water sports permits and they had approached Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte during his visit to the taluka.
