The state of Goa is in troubled waters and the stormy weather is not likely to subside anytime soon. The root of this fight is between two groups of Goans who have, for generations been involved in fishing and are now at loggerheads on the divisive LED issue that threatens to shape the fishing industry in Goa for good.
On one hand, there are 13 traditional fishermen associations across Goa that have come together along with a section of the mechanised trawler owners and have demanded the ban on LED lights on the grounds that technology will bring about an end to their livelihood. It is interesting that the ramponkars have got the support from mechanised trawler owners as this is a departure from the earlier conflicts that were usually just between the ramponkars and the trawler owners.
In the past, all mechanised trawler owners, including small boat owners and the purse seine trawler owners had come under one umbrella to take on the ramponkars during the commotion in the past, surrounding the implementation of the fishing ban and discrepancies.
The story has now shifted with mechanised trawler owners from Vasco and Cutbona hitting out at the Purse Seine Trawler owners accusing them of ‘killing their business’.
On the other hand, the purse seine trawler owners are shocked and feel outnumbered as the voices against them are growing and believe they are now the targets of a witch hunt. They have reiterated that they have done nothing wrong and believe there are other reasons behind the organisation and execution of the protests by those opposing LED lights and believe middlemen are influencing them as they are not happy with the rates of fish in the market dropping down which has affected the monopoly they used to enjoy at the wholesale fish markets. The Purse Seiners also allege that the ramponkars cannot be called traditional fishermen anymore as they have used mechanised equipment.
The Purse Seiners who are from Velim, Benaulim, Panjim and other areas point out that they too in the past used to be traditional fishermen owning just a boat or two and that they have embraced technology and invested in infrastructure to reach where they have. This is to counter the allegation by the ramponkars that only a handlful of rich families are using LED lights.
The ramponkars in turn counter the allegation of the Purse Seiners that the ramponkars kin are all abroad and the influx of migrant labour runs their canoes.
In the end what it comes down to is a debate about their identity and emotive flashpoint about who is right and who is wrong given their origins and status to the fishing industry. While both groups have criticised the handling of the Fisheries department given that the situation has been precipitating for months now, both groups are also speaking about how the government has betrayed them.
The Purse Seiners feel that the government has failed to respond to their demands in the past and should have supported them instead of caving into pressure and not giving them a fair chance. In Velim, where the Cutbona jetty is located the MLA Benjamin Silva himself is a Purse Seine trawler owner.
The ramponkars however feel that the government has betrayed their former leader the late Matanhy Saldanha and question how this is protecting his legacy when Matanhy himself had in the past protested on the streets in favour of ramponkars. Saldanha was the leader of Goenchea Ramponkaranchea Ekvott (GR) that is spearheading the fight and was the secretary of the National Fishworkers Forum, a mantle taken up by his nephew Olencio. Olencio and GRE president Agnelo Rodrigues were both lathicharged along with traditional fishermen. According to activist priest Fr Eremito Rebello, who said the funeral mass for the Late Matanhy Saldanha in the presence of BJP leaders including finance minister Arjun Jaitey, this is proof that the government is shedding crocodile tears to protect the legacy of the late Matanhy Saldanha.
However, with both sides hardening their stand over the use of LED lights on fishing vessels, the future of Goa’s most important occupation is in the dark. The government has pleased no one and the extent of its mishandling is evident when even after issuing a notification banning LED lights, it failed to quell such a massive agitation on the streets of Goa’s capital, where force had to be used on Goa’s own people.
