In a tangle

To say that Goa’s fishing industry is in complete turmoil now is an understatement. The situation is just one incident away from getting out of hand. The biggest and perhaps only batter is that of protecting the rights of traditional fisherman while also allowing purse seiners and LED fishing, which has its pros and cons.

Purse seine fishing is done by using large nets that are controlled by rings, which are tightened when full to restrict fish from escaping. The nets, when filled, resemble a purse; hence the name. Purse seining is a relatively sustainable form of fishing, when done correctly, because it limits the amount of by-catch, which is the other species of fish caught along with the larger shoals of fish that the fishermen intended on catching. Now, LED lights are the rage. It’s this new trend that is irking the ramponkars, traditional fishermen who have plied their trade on Goa’s coastal water for generations.

Goa has around 1,000 trawlers, of which approximately 300 are purse seiners. About 20 to 25 percent of them now use LED lights. The lights work in a unique way, by attracting bait fish, like small prawns, zooplankton and squid, which cause a food chain reaction, bringing in the intended catch - larger predator fish. But this sort of fishing is done in the deep sea, beyond the 12 nautical miles that form part of Goan waters. So, the ban on LED lights by the department of fisheries doesn’t hold water. However, there still has to be some form of rules and regulations to any boats that operate out of Goa. In Sri Lanka for instance, purse seining is not allowed with 7 nautical miles.

The ramponkars allege that these purse seiners and LED light fishermen are depleting fish stocks in Goan waters. They may be right there, but with the demand for fish, from households and now food establishments, on the rise, large scale fishing is inevitable. This is where a proper fishing policy is needed. The ramponkars are obviously concerned about their share in Goa’s fishing industry, considering that purse seiners and trawlers contribute to over 70 percent of Goa’s demand for fish.

But here are a few questions. If the purse seiners conduct their business in deep sea, beyond 12 nautical miles, does that affect the ramponkars and canoe fisherman who fish much closer to shore? Or are they alleging that the purse seiners are fishing within Goan waters? There has to be an investigation on these points.

The Goa government needs to, as in the case of the recent taxi issue, get all stakeholders and experts in the field to sit down and form a proper policy. They can take inspiration from the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy, which allots quotas to member states for starters. They also have specific rules for the type of nets used and how big the holes are (to allow younger and smaller fish to escape). Inspections are conducted out in the sea, on the land and also via satellite. If the government can start allotting quotas to the different categories of fisherman – ramponkars, canoe fishermen and trawlers, it would create some semblance of order. This would also help in managing fish stocks, which are on the decline across the world.

Sustainable fishing is the need of the hour. Using lights to fish however is a method that has been around for decades if not longer. The right thing to do would be to create norms that have to be followed, if Goa’s fishing industry has to get stabilized.