PANJIM/BETIM: Even as the fishing season has started, not many trawlers are venturing into the sea. Is it for fear of the Fisheries Department which is doing the inspection or is it because of lack of manpower, which has not returned to work?
Is it, to use a term most locals in Goa understand “a setting”, is do a show of inspection for a few days and then its business as usual.
Team Herald spent Wednesday at the fishing jetty in Betim to take a stock of the drive to check the trawlers for LED and bull trawling fishing gear.
But both the trawler owners and the Fisheries Department are silent on the inspection issue. Besides this, the traditional fishermen have a number of demands which government has to concede on an urgent basis.
After visiting the jetty on Tuesday and Wednesday, it was learnt that hardly any trawlers have ventured into the sea. This is due to the ongoing checking and the weather warning.
When Team Herald tried to contact the jetty officials, they preferred to remain silent to the questions of the media on LED fishing and the reasons to have generators on the boats.
Herald met several fishermen and workers at the jetty to know the reality, but hardly anyone spoke out due to fear.
One of them said, “We don’t want to come on record, but I can tell you that today the boats aren’t going into the sea because of the ongoing inspection and lack of labourers as many are yet to come back.”
Another fisherman said, “Not many boats are going in, but we have begun to venture out with the small boats. The labourers will come by the end of this week. Due to the inspection, movement is on hold. Many have not got the clearance pass from the Fisheries department hence their boats are docked at the jetty. But soon the boats/trawlers will sail into the sea.”
Taking a dig at the Fisheries Department, the fishermen at the jetty said that they are targeted while no action is taken on fishermen who violate the fishing ban. They also raised the issue of boats and trawlers coming in from outside like Malvan, Karwar, and other districts.
“They come and take away the fish, while there is no action taken on this by the department. We personally have complained and shown these boats to the officials but no action has been taken to date,” he said.
When contacted Fisheries Minister Nilkant Halarnkar said, “We are checking every day as per High Court orders. We are on track to curb all illegal activities.”
When questioned about illegal boats coming into the Goan territory he said, “We are keeping a watch and doing our best to curb all illegal activities (mein amche soglle prayatna karta, amchechin zatte tem sogle karta) and disconnected the call before further questions could be asked.
But is the best good enough?
Earlier Director of Goa Foundation Claude Alvares said
“Earlier Goa could see more than 100 varieties of fish. Now there are only around eight common varieties and of these King Fish and Pomfret are beyond the reach of common man,” he said.
He also said that out of the nearly 900 trawlers that go to sea, about 400 trawlers are doing LED fishing.
Hence after he moved to the High Court against these illegal activities in the sea, the High Court ordered checking on any equipment related to LED fishing and the government subsequently started cracking down on LED fishing. He suspected that the work was not being done properly.
Fisheries Minister Nilkant Halarnkar in the evening said that the fishing trawlers are allowed to venture into the sea only after they are certified to be free from LED lights.
“Only those trawlers which are carrying passes will be allowed to fish in the Sea,” the minister,” said adding that Coastal Police have been asked to inspect the trawlers.
