Just as anticipation was peaking and Goans, like fellow Indians, were with their fingers crossed as to what the Union budget will hold for them in terms of their daily battle against price rise, and more importantly, the direct tax regime, the Goa government lobbed its bombshell -- a new registration regime for all forms of fishing. It is the decision to mandate registration of equipment and licence fees for sport fishing and traditional fishing methods, widely practised in Goa's rivers and backwaters, including thousands of catchments of sluice gates (manos), which has become a topic of intense discussion and debate across the State. It has triggered a furore and earned the government widespread criticism. Let's dive in.
Out of the blue, the Goa government's fisheries department came up with a new taxation and registration regime for use of fishing equipment and surreptitiously, perhaps for the first time included sport fishing, a rampantly practised activity across the State.
The Goa Marine Fishing Regulation (Seventh Amendment) Rules, 2023, shall come into force the day they are published in the Official Gazette, said the notification issued by Dr Shamila Monteiro, Director & ex-officio Joint Secretary (Fisheries).
While the intention of some of these new rules is to tackle the perceived over-exploitation of fish resources, including the use of LED lights in mechanised fishing, what has left many a Goan upset and confused, are the provisions which seek to mandate registration of equipment and licencing of the widely practised activity of sport fishing.
Going by the letter of the new rules, angling, so commonly practised in Goa whether, along banks of rivers, the sea or in the backwaters, will come under the scanner of the government. Like riding a bike or driving a car requires registration of the vehicle and a driving licence for the driver, fishing or angling will also require your equipment to be registered and a licence for its use.
Register, obtain
a licence to fish
The new set of regulations notified by Dr Monteiro brings under a regulatory and licence fee regime the use of cast net (pagear), traps (koblem), hook and line, longlines (lambari) and any other fishing net/gear. This, in essence, means that the widely practised hobby of angling/fishing by thousands of Goans has to now be practised only after you register your equipment and obtain a licence.
For the cast net (pagear), the registration fee prescribed is Rs 200 and an annual licence fee of Rs 100 to use it. Similarly, traps (koblem is a common one used to catch crabs) will also entail a registration fee of Rs 200 and a licence fee of Rs 100.
The hook and line you use to fish for the sport will cost a registration fee of Rs 500 and a licence fee of Rs 250. The use of long lines entails a registration fee of Rs 800 and a licence fee of Rs 400.
For "any other fishing net or gear" a registration fee of Rs 500 and a licence fee of Rs 250 is prescribed.
The letter of these rules essentially means that the next time you want to head out to your favourite fishing spot along a river bank, the sea along the beaches or even at the local sluice-gate for your favourite leisure activity, you will have to make sure your angling equipment is registered with the State's fisheries department and you have secured a 'licence' to use it.
Attempt to regulate
commercial fishing
There is a genuine intent to regulate commercial fishing in these new rules though. Apart from the 'schedule' which identifies fishing equipment and implements legally permitted and which prescribes the fees for their registration as well as obtaining a licence to use them, this seventh amendment to the Goa Marine Fishing Regulation Rules also provides penal action for use of unauthorised equipment.
The penal provision is intended to tackle the widespread use of LED lights, described by scientists and marine ecologists as dangerous for the long-term balance of marine life.
The notification issued by Dr Monteiro inserts a new sub-rule 6 (d) which prescribes a fine of Rs 50,000 in the case of use or carriage or installation of unregistered fishing gear or unauthorised fishing equipment such as LED lights, fish light attractors or any other light equipment. It also states that such equipment, when seized, shall be forfeited to the government.
Penalties apply to
'sport' fishing too
While the penal provision is intended to tackle the widespread use of LED lights by some mechanised fishing entrepreneurs, a practice local traditional fishermen (ramponkars) have long been protesting against, it will also apply to a lot of other categories of fishing, including 'sport fishing'. It is this that has become a topic of discussion and debate besides earning the government widespread criticism.
Fisheries Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar, however, sought to argue that these rules are not meant for locals who fish as a hobby, but for some migrant fishermen who use alien equipment and are upsetting local ecosystems. However, there is no 'exception' made in the notification issued by Dr Monteiro where, as the minister suggests, locals will be exempted from the application of these rules.
Should a designated official of the fisheries department accost anglers who have not registered their equipment or obtained a 'licence', the penal provision entails confiscation and even forfeiture of the equipment. In addition, catch, if any, will be taken away and a fine which could be multiple times the 'value' of it can be levied.
Interestingly, the rule applies to individual fishers using cast nets (pagear) and traps (koblem) to catch fish, prawns, lobsters and crabs. Across Goa's 'khazans' where sluice-gates (manos) are prevalent and estuaries exist, locals routinely go out with this equipment to catch crabs and local species of fish either as a hobby or to provide for a part of the family's diet.
Other traditional methods of fishing, which are commercially exploited by Goans at a very micro-level -- sluice-gate nets, stake nets, barrier nets (funtaunim) and drag nets (rampon) -- have also been brought under the new regulatory regime for registration and licencing.
The move of the government to regulate the widely practised fishing activity down to the lowest player in the chain has not gone down well, especially among traditional fishermen (ramponkar) and the occasional 'sport' fisher.
The new regulations are now a reality. Verbally, the fisheries minister seems to be taking the stance that these are not meant for the traditional Goan fishermen on the occasional sport fisher. However, unless the government comes up with concrete exemptions in a fresh notification to sweeten the deal, the angler's anger is unlikely to subside anytime soon.
