Chennai, Jan 23 (BPNS)
The Tamil Nadu fisheries department will book fishermen and boat owners who use pair trawling nets under the Tamil Nadu Marine Fish Regulations Act. It may be noted that country boat fishermen at Rameswaram have been demanding stringent action against boat owners and fishers who are resorting to use pair trawling nets that are eroding the sea wealth.
The fisheries department commenced the crackdown and on Sunday 48 fishing boats for using pair trawling nets. 4 tonnes of fish were seized from fishermen during the search operation carried out by the fisheries department and police.
The pair trawling fishing nets are banned in the country but the traditional fishermen have been conducting protests in Rameswaram and other coastal towns of Tamil Nadu that the practice was rampant among mechanized fishing boats.
R. Arumukhan, a traditional fishermen association leader in Rameswaram while speaking to IANS said, “ More than 250 mechanized boats are using pair trawl nets on a daily basis from here only. This means two boats or a single pair of boats occupy around 180- 200 m of sea area while trawling and this has led to a depletion of squid and crab in the area. Traditional fishermen like us are not being able to fish in the waters. Also, government has banned this practice and after a series of protests and complaints by us, the fisheries department has finally commenced crackdown.”
The fisheries department, according to sources will continue the crackdown on pair trawlers in Rameswaram and other coastal towns and is planning a massive awareness campaign across the state against this practice of fishing.
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