Team Herald

PANJIM/Margao: The Fisheries Department intercepted and detained three trawlers from neighbouring State while fishing in Goan waters on Monday.

The trawlers are registered at Malpe, Karnataka. According to the Fisheries Department their patrol vessel and staff intercepted the trawlers and detained them in the afternoon at around 1.30 pm. A crew of almost 30 men who were onboard during the action were detained at the jetty. The department officials will be conducting a panchanama of the incident. The case will be sent to the appointed administrator, who will auction the fish stored in the trawlers.

The trawler owners will be fined for three or four times of the value for the violation.

Meanwhile, the Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott (GRE) on Monday welcomed the move of Fisheries Department to act quickly on inputs it had received about three boats from Malpe, Karnataka venturing into Goan territorial waters.

Reacting to the action taken by the Fisheries Department in seizing the boats and detaining those involved, the GRE urged the government and Coastal Police to take strict action so that a precedent is set and such incidents are not repeated in the future.

GRE General Secretary Olencio Simoes recalled that in the past when such boats had been caught by the authorities, the action taken was lacking as not only were the boats released but the boats returned into Goan waters months later.

Simoes pointed out that the Bombay High Court at Goa had already intervened in the matter and had directed the Fisheries Department to take adequate action to stop such non-Goan boats from fishing in Goan waters.

The traditional ramponnkars have been demanding that the movement of fishing boats from neighbouring States into Goan waters be stopped as it threatened their livelihood as these non-Goan boats scoop out the majority of the fish available in the sea.

Ramponkars have held protests on this issue in the past.