the goan I network
MARGAO
Was the ban on fishing with LED lights announced by the government with much fanfare in November last year turned out a farce for want of implementation?
It appears so, even as curtains have come down on the fishing season with the 61-day fishing ban period coming into force from Friday. If the traditional fishermen led by Olencio Simoes had all along been crying foul over the rampant violation of the ban right under the nose of the government, the boat owners too now say the ban was never implemented in both letter and spirit.
If one goes by the President of the Cutbona Boat Owners Union Savio D’Silva, the ban on LED light fishing was never implemented by the government, and the ban was literally confined to the official books. “The ban was never in force. We had only read on the media that the government has banned fishing with LED lights in the State’s territorial waters. In reality, the ban was never in force with fishing vessels using the LED lights with impunity,” he told the media on the Cutbona jetty.
Savio pointed out that most of the boat owners had an average fishing season this year, but hastened to add that small boat owners had to literally struggle, while blaming the government for its utter failure to reign in on the ban violators.
The Cutbona Boat Owners Union president said that since the Fisheries department has taken over the Cutbona jetty, the government should put in force a mechanism how to stop fishing with LED lights. “The government has two months time at its disposal to work out the modalities to stop fishing with LED lights. Let’s wait and see whether the government has any plans up its sleeve to implement the ban in the next season, beginning from August 1,” he said, while asserting that any ban ought to be uniformly implemented along the West coast.
Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott general secretary Olencio Simoes had in the past slammed the government for lack of will to reign in on the violators of the LED fishing ban. He had also pooh poohed the statement made by Fisheries Minister Vinoda Paliencar that the Fisheries department is ill-equipped to crack down on the fishing ban violators.
The Goa government had on November 11 last announced the ban on LED fishing and bull trawling in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) beyond the territorial waters. While Fisheries Minister Vinoda Paliencar and Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai were quick to hail the Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh, saying the order is dedicated to the traditional fishermen of Goa, who have faced police lathis and struggled a lot to demand a ban on LED fishing and bull trawling, the ban, however, was never implemented in both letter and spirit by the government.
The ban had prohibited the use or installation or operation of surface or submerged artificial lights/LED lights, fish light attractors or any other light equipment with or without generator on mechanised fishing vessel or motorised fishing craft for trawling, purse-seining and gill netting operations in the Indian EEZ beyond territorial waters.
The order will be binding on all fishing vessels and their supporting, supply and auxillary vessels operating in the Indian EEZ from the day of issue of this order.
