In an episode that has left more questions than answers, four fishing vessels seized for allegedly operating in Goa’s territorial waters quietly slipped out of official custody on Wednesday night — taking advantage of what appears to be a basic security lapse.
Hours earlier, the Department of Fisheries had detained 13 fishing vessels from Karnataka along with their catch and escorted them to the Panjim jetty after a high-sea interception. The boats were tied together with ropes and left docked under watch.
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By morning, four of them were gone.
Officials believe crew members under the cover of darkness, loosened the ropes and simply sailed away — turning what was meant to be a show of enforcement into an embarrassment for the authorities.
The escape came to light on Thursday, prompting Director of Fisheries Dr Shamila Monteiro to file a police complaint and initiate efforts to trace the vessels. The department has also alerted the Fisheries Survey of India unit at Honnavar, as documents indicated the boats were registered there.
The irony has not gone unnoticed. Vessels intercepted at sea after a coordinated operation involving officials and local fishermen managed to navigate their way out of custody at the jetty — without resistance, without detection, and apparently without much difficulty.
Meanwhile, the department moved to auction the confiscated catch — tonnes of sardines hauled in by the seized vessels. But even that effort faltered, drawing no buyers despite the fish being preserved in deep freeze. The stock has since been diverted for fish meal processing.
