MARGAO
A fishing boat from Karnataka was seized by the Fisheries Department on Wednesday morning, but local fishermen have now demanded that the department place an interceptor boat at Betul to effectively foil attempts by fishing vessels from the neighbouring state from fishing in the territorial waters of Goa.
The local fishermen further demanded that the Fisheries Department conduct the auction of the seized fish in a transparent manner, to get maximum income from the auction.
The fish was seized by the Fisheries Department and towed to the Cutbona fishing jetty around noon.
A traditional fisherman from Betul, Pandarinath told the media that the menace of Karnataka boats fishing in the shallow waters of Goa can be effectively dealt with only if an interceptor boat is placed at the disposal of the Betul coastal police.
“We have seen what had happened at Pollem some days when a fleet of fishing vessels from Karnataka had ventured into the State’s territorial waters and could not be intercepted for want of an interceptor with the coastal police. The fishermen aboard the Karnataka vessels were armed with missiles such as stones and other items, posing risk to the local fishermen. In such a situation, only an interceptor at the disposal of the local police can keep the outstation vessels at bay,” he added.
Pandarinath pointed out that the fish netted by the outside vessels shows that they are netting even small fish, which is normally netted by the traditional fishermen. “If these outside vessels are allowed to go scot free, local traditional fishermen may not be left with any fish,” he feared, even as he demanded transparency in the auctioning of the seized fish.
Boat owner and Velim Sarpanch Savio D’Silva told the media that the Fisheries department should effectively put a stop to the fishing by outside vessels in the shallow waters as it adversely affects and destroys the occupation of the local fishermen.
Demanding auctioning of the seized fish in a transparent manner, Savio claimed that doubts were raised last month after the seizure of the two boats from Karnataka when the auction did not bring in the expected revenue to the Fisheries department.
