The All Goa Small Scale Responsible Fisheries Union (AGSSRFU) has complained to the Di rectorate of Fisheries about alleged illegal trawling in the Zuari river during night hours and has also ap proached the Goa Coastal Zone Management Author ity (GCZMA) seeking trans lation of the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) 2019 map legends into Konkani and Marathi. In a complaint to the Di rector of Fisheries, the un ion said trawlers have been entering the Zuari river at night over the past month, affecting small-scale fishing operations along the coast. Union president Shaila D’Mello said the alleged il legal trawling is disrupting traditional fishing activity carried out by small-scale fishers in the river. Secretary Laximan Mangueshkar also referred to a recent incident in which eight trawlers re portedly entered the Zuari river.
According to the un ion, local fishermen alerted the Fisheries Control Room after which the naviga tion lights of the trawlers operating about a kilo metre from the shore were switched off for about 15 minutes before the activity resumed. Mangueshkar said such operations amount to con tempt of court in view of the High Court judgment delivered earlier in the un ion’s case on illegal fishing. In a separate representa tion to GCZMA, the union said the legends of the draft CZMP 2019 maps should be translated into Konkani and Marathi so that coast al communities are able to understand them.
