The Fisheries Department must act, rather than just promise

The Minister of Fisheries, Felipe Neri Rodrigues, assured the fishing community that his department would strive to maintain strict vigilance on bull trawling by boats from other states for which he asked trawler owners, boats and canoes to be informants about illegalities in Goa’s restricted waters. .

The minister’s statement comes days after fishing boats from Karnataka were caught fishing off Benaulim after their presence was reported to police by local fishermen. This had led Congress to accuse the government of failing to watch over the coast and over illegal fishing. While fishermen can act as informants as they fish and witness illegalities, shouldn’t the department be mindful of the illegal fishing that takes place in the seas off the coast of Goa?

Trawlers from the neighboring state have been caught because of the intervention of some local fishermen, how many others have gone unnoticed for lack of vigilance? Does the department have any data on this or is it entirely dependent on the information from the fishermen? Can the department also indicate how many times it has managed to prevent illegal fishing without the help of local fishermen? These are relevant questions that the department must answer, if it is serious about preventing illegal fishing.

The minister’s statement of October 17 that vigilance in the waters should be an organized affair and that it is not only the duty of fisheries departments but others is also true. But, is there a plan to make this happen? If not, when will such a plan be put in place? The time for declarations is over, what is needed is action. When the minister says that the ministry will not allow any disasters due to illegal fishing activities, he should also explain what is being done to curb illegal fishing, by boats from other states, off the coast of Goa. Is the department up to the task?

Bull trawling is not a new concern raised by the state’s fishing community. This has been discussed in the past with the assurance of the government that it will tackle it. How it was to be approached was not said. In May 2018, when LED fishing and bull trawling were being discussed by the fishing community, the then Minister of Fisheries admitted that the department was not fully equipped to crack down on law violators. annual ban on monsoon fishing. The question that arose from this statement is how could the Fisheries Department, with its lack of equipment, ever effectively stop the bull trawling and LED fishing that have been banned by the Center? It seems that little has been done since to equip the department which still relies on fishermen to report illegalities. The fact that the Karnataka trawlers were chased by the police in private speedboats shows how little has been done in this regard.

The State Department of Fisheries should consider implementing long-term measures and also regulate fishing on a scientific basis in order to conserve available resources. A simple ban on fishing during the monsoon month may not help. Limiting the tonnage of catches could be an option to consider. There is no cap on fishing, and mechanized and non-mechanized boats ply the rivers and seas. There is no data on the tonnes of fish caught or even on the availability of marine resources and their recovery. A fishing cap could be a solution to ensure that the fish remain available for the future.