MARGAO: With local boat owners and the Cutbona Boat Owners Union at logger heads over the storage of fishing nets at the Cutbona Fishing jetty, Deputy Collector, Sangeeta Naik on Thursday inspected the fishing jetty for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.
The inspection was conducted following a dispute between the local boat owners and members of the Cutbona Boat Owners Union over the storage of fishing nets at the jetty. After the inspection, the Deputy Collector said she would submit her report to the Collector for necessary action. “I have seen the jetty and have heard both the parties. I will submit my report to the Collector for action,” she said.
The deputy collector said her prime responsibility is to ensure maintenance of law and order, adding that the Collector will forward her report to the Director of Fisheries for further action.
A local boat owner Seby Cardozo reiterated that the authorities will have to remove all the nets from the jetty if the locals are not allowed to store fishing nets at the jetty. “We have made ourselves very clear that if our nets cannot be accommodated on the jetty, then all the nets should be towed away from the jetty,” he said.
Boat Union president Cypriano Cardozo said the boat owners are storing the nets in the space which is not utilised for the berthing facilities. “We believe in peace and harmony. We don’t discriminate amongst boat owners as locals and outsiders,” he added. Boat owner Roosevelt Alemao said the fisheries department should take a call whether nets are to be stored at the jetty or not. “This is fisheries department property and the department should taka a call. There’s nothing called as local and outside boat owners. We all operate under the Director of Fisheries,” he added.
