Asserting that the Director of Fisheries has no jurisdiction to ban fishing with LED lights beyond 12 nautical miles, members of the purse seine boat owners group on Thursday has now pinned their hopes on Chief Minister, Laxmikant Parsekar to intervene and withdraw the letter issued by the Fisheries Director to remove LED lights and generators from fishing vessels.
MARGAO
The Purse Seine Boat Owners Development Society also launched an attack on the traditional canoe owners and ramponkars for demanding a ban on fishing with LED lights, demanding that the Fisheries Department clamp down on the fishing irregularities carried out by these category of fishermen.
Addressing the media, Purse Seine Boat Owners Development Society chairman, Miguel Rodrigues, said a delegation of the boat owners will call on the Chief Minister on Friday with a plea to withdraw the Fisheries Director’s letter calling for the removal of the LED lights and generators from vessels.
“We are positive that the Chief Minister will give us justice,” Miguel said, while asserting that the Society, however, will weigh various options, including knocking the doors of the courts, in the event the government does not withdraw the Fisheries Director’s letter to them to remove the LED lights.
“We are ready for a debate with anyone on fishing with LED lights. We know that some middlemen who import fish from across the state borders are behind instigating those demanding a ban on fishing with LED lights because Goans can now get comparatively cheap fish,” he said, informing that around 200 purse seine owners, contributing to 70-80 per cent of the fishing landing in the state, have joined the society to protect their interest.
To a question, Miguel said the Fisheries Director has no jurisdiction to ban fishing with LED lights when they are fishing beyond the 12 nautical miles.
“There is no law or statute that bans fishing with LED lights. We fail to understand how the Fisheries Director has issued the letter to us to withdraw the lights,” he wondered.
A purse seine boat owner from Vasco, Jerry Fernandes, has expressed his shock over the recent outbursts by the traditional canoe owners and ramponkars on LED lights fishing, pointing out a host of alleged gross illegalities that the ramponkars and canoe owners/operators have been indulging over the years.
He pointed out that while the legal canoes are supposed to be around 36 feet size, many canoes have violated the norm and are now 40-50 feet length.
“Canoes are supposed to catch fish with gill nets, but they violate the rule by indulging in purse seining by installing winches and drums with ropes. Canoes with high-speed outboard motors and trawling boats are freely fishing even within 5 kms from the shore. These mechanised canoes do not observe the fishing ban in defiance of the law. Many of these fishermen have gone abroad but their canoes are operational in Goa. They can afford to relax because their children have gone abroad but we have employed used advanced fishing techniques to survive,” he added.
