MARGAO: The Seafood Exporters of India (SEI), Goa Unit, has termed the allegations made by the purse seiners as “baseless”.
SEI, which the purse seiners referred to as ‘middlemen influencing the ongoing protest against LED lights’, said there was no question of the association influencing the protest and asked why would it would pay ramponkars, as is being insinuated. Stressing that it had nothing to do with the protest, SEI said this was just an attempt to spoil its name. SEI added that if any trawler owner did not want to deal with the export association, they could directly sell their products in or outside Goa without involving agents.
SEI further said that it had written to the Central government earlier not on the LED issue, but for a uniform policy across India for the implementation of a fishing ban from May 1 to August 31, and for a ban on high-speed engines, bull trawling and LED lights.
SEI has reiterated that it is not focusing on one particular issue or targeting any group from Cutbona or Panjim, but it had an all-India perspective. The association added that, places like Kerala, where 50 percent of the locals depended on fishing for their livelihoods, were already implementing strong laws to protect fish and ban harmful fishing methods, and that India, and not just Goa, should be more proactive.
SEI added that the Goan market was still dependent on fish imported from outside the State and raised concerns that over-catching could harm the fishing industry in the long run. SEI said that this justified their four demands, the main one being the four-month fishing ban. The association added that Western countries even had a six-month ban.
Incidentally, GRE on Saturday also refuted the purse seiners’ allegations as well as their theory that the market prices of fish were coming down.
