CANACONA: A foreigner presently on a holiday in Canacona was caught red handed catching prized red snappers with the help of a spear gun in Talpona River on Wednesday.
Fearing confrontation by the agitated locals he escaped from the other side of the river.
On learning about a foreigner catching red snappers with the help of a spear gun in the waters of Talpona River, hundreds of locals including fishermen were keeping a close watch since Wednesday morning.
As soon the foreigner descended in the waters under the railway bridge on Talpona River on Wednesday morning, text messages were instantly shared on social media and in no time hundreds of locals gathered near railway bridge near Talpona.
Sensing trouble, the foreigner escaped with his spear gun from the other end of the river, an eye witness said.
“As it is we are struggling to make ends meet due to low fish catch, a foreigner coming with a spear gun and swimming gear to catch fish is unacceptable, he caught at least 50 snappers on Tuesday, and the greed brought him today also,” said Dinesh Sadolxemkar an aggrieved fisherman from the locality.
This is the second incident in Talpona River in which a foreign tourist has come in the line of fire from the local fishermen.
In the first incident, a foreign tourist while swimming had wilfully destroyed a fishing net cast in Talpona River at Sadolxem, the aggrieved fisherman had withdrawn the complaint after the accused foreigner agreed to pay compensation to the fisherman.
“As it is the fish population has depleted in recent years due to unexplained reasons in Talpona River and the act of a foreigner fishing with spears is not acceptable to the fishing community who solely depend on this river for a living, we will report this to police,” said Pradeep Mokhardakar a local fisherman.
