the goan I network
PANAJI
The guidelines which include restrictions on the number of vessels that can be owned by a single person, who can own a fishing vessel and other guidelines, have been welcomed by trawler owners, but with some reservations.
According to the guidelines released recently, purchase of an already registered fishing vessel will be allowed only to those individuals who currently own no vessel or who own only one vessel with the prior approval of the Director of Fisheries.
The guidelines also mandate that new owners of vessels shall not be permitted to sell to any other individual within five years from the date of registration of the vessel as well as a ban on sale of vessels through power of attorney, or to operate a vessel through power of attorney and a ban on individuals working abroad to purchase fishing vessels in Goa.
Other guidelines also include a ban on extending the length of a vessel as registered with the department. “These guidelines are welcome as they are long awaited. However, the questions on their enforcement remains. Firstly these are only guidelines and secondly the department by and large depends on the owner’s self declaration that all the boats are within the specifications when in reality they are not,” a trawler owner told The Goan on condition of anonymity.
The guidelines are however silent on several aspects. “There is no mandating that engines of fishing boats should be of Bharat Stage IV compliance. If the Supreme Court has mandated that such norms be followed by vehicles on the road, why are trawlers exempted?” the trawler owner asked.
Most trawlers operating in Goan waters are refurbished boats that are often only borderline seaworthy bought from other parts of India. They are fitted with Chinese engines that far exceed the permissible capacity but continue to be labelled
as a lower capacity than they are.
“The fisheries department should have a mechanism to check the actual capacity of an engine by measuring its displacement, torque, and horsepower. None of this is being done,” the trawler owner said.
Instead the Fisheries Department has washed its hands off the issues with a line in its new guidelines that “it shall not be responsible if any owners of the vessel have sold or extended the length of the vessel without following the guidelines of the department.”
The seaworthiness of trawlers in Goa is a huge question as the state prepares for a new fishing season barely a month away.
