The Department of Fisheries in Maharashtra has issued a set of guidelines to curb illegal fishing during the monsoon. As per the Maharashtra Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1981, fishing is prohibited during the monsoon season to allow breeding and replenishment of stocks.
The development came after the Karanja Port in Raigad was raided on June 27, during which 41 fishing trawlers were operating illegally, and 72 vehicles were apprehended for transporting the catch.
A senior official with the fisheries department in Mumbai, who has attended two meetings on the matter chaired by Mungantiwar since June 28, said, “Illegal fishing is an issue we have to deal with every year, but given the scale of offence uncovered at Karanja, we have issued detailed guidelines for all district and sub-district level officials to follow,” a senior official with the fisheries department said.
According to the guidelines, at all fishing harbours and jetties, parking slots need to be created and assigned to individual trawlers, which are not to be moved until the monsoon ban ends on August 31. These lots need to be monitored by security guards every four hours, and time-stamped photographs need to be submitted to the district officer and licence officer as evidence. A register of boats in every harbour also needs to be maintained.
“If during the inspection, any boat is found to be missing, or if their designated parking spot has changed, it will be brought to the notice of the assistant commissioner of fisheries in Mumbai. The licence officers will have the power to cancel the registration of the fishing boats which are not complying with the ban, and also to lodge FIRs against the boat owners,” the official said.
The protocol also directs district-level officials to carry out raids at fishing harbours in their jurisdiction. If fisherman’s cooperatives are found to be collectively violating the ban, then the fisheries department will have the power to cancel the registration of the respective body. It will also lead to a discontinuation of the organisation’s subsidised diesel quota.
Since June 1, 41 FIRs have been filed against owners of fishing boats in Maharashtra for violating the annual ban on deep sea fishing during monsoon season.
On June 27, 12 violators from Karanja were booked under sections 186 (obstructing public servant in the discharge of public functions), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 141 (unlawful assembly), 143 (punishment of unlawful assembly), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
“In almost all instances where FIRs have been filed, the boats had painted over their identification markers, such as the name of the boat, the boat licence number, and the fishing licence number. We have noticed that this has become a common practice during the monsoons to evade identification. This poses a security risk and requires the police and Coast Guard’s vigilance as well,” the fisheries department official added.