the goan I network
MARGAO
Cutbona fishing jetty witnessed a flare up between the fish agents and a section of boat owners after the agents insisted that they will not procure any catch if the same was not unloaded at the place allocated for them at the jetty.
President of the Purse seine vessels Association President Seby Cardozo, however, cried foul over the refusal by the fish agents to buy his catch, terming the action by the fish agents as vindictive as he had moved the High Court which finally resulted in the take over of the fishing jetty by the Fisheries department. He also pointed accusing fingers at the wholesale fish agents president M Ibrahim, saying the fish agents at the Cutbona jetty are closely linked to Ibrahim.
A member of the panel constituted by the Fisheries department as per the High Court order, Benjamin D’Silva said that there’s a deliberate attempt to create confusion at the Cutbona fishing jetty by vested interests since the jetty has been taken over by the Fisheries department. “As per the High Court order, there cannot be any problem at the jetty. However, certain vested interests appeared hell bent in creating problems and misguiding the fish agents. As per the high court order, the fish agents cannot insist on a permanent place and the allotment of plots is to be carried out by the department”, Benjamin said.
While the row over the procurement of fish by the agents was resolved on Thursday after the fisheries department gave its nod for the 12 existing agents to participate in the auction, tension started on Friday evening after the agents insisted that the boats should unload their catch at their place of business at the jetty. An agent told the media that the boats should dock at the place of their business, saying they have no manpower to carry the fish from vessels docked at plots marked by the department.
Seby Cardozo told the media that the fish agents are either resorting to monopoly or are taking revenge on him by not procuring his catch given that he had gone to the High Court which facilitated taking over of the jetty by the Fisheries department. “I will take my catch to the wholesale fish market on Saturday.
But, I do not know what would happen when there’s a big catch and the agents refuse to buy my fish”, Seby added.
