The annual fishing ban will come into force for a 61-day period from April 15 in Puducherry, Karaikal and Yanam regions and from June 1 in Mahe.
The ban imposed by the Central Ministry of Fisheries constitutes a management measure aimed at regulating fisheries and conserving marine resources. The Union Territory has a coast line of about 45 kms and a continental shelf of 675 sq km dotted by 50 fishing hamlets of varying sizes with an estimated 29,000 actively engaged fisher population.
Notifying the ban for 2024 along the coastline of the Union Territory, A. Punitha Mary, Fisheries under secretary, said all types of fishing vessels, especially trawlers and motorised fibre boats, are prohibited during the period. In essence, fishing activities involving all types of vessels, to the exception of catamarans, country boats/canoes, are prohibited during the ban phase.
The ban will be in force from April 15 to June 14 (both days inclusive1) along the traditional fishing stretch from Kanachettikulam to Murthikuppam- Pudukuppam fishing villages in Puducherry, and from Mandapathur to Vanjur in Karaikal and the fishing zone in Yanam.
Likewise, in Mahe the prohibitory period will run from June 1 to July 31 (inclusive of both days). The Fisheries Department also said that as per the restricted interim order of the Supreme Court on January 24, 2023, the prohibition order will also apply to boats using purse seine nets on the above days in the East Coast (Puducherry, Karaikal and Yanam) and West Coast (Mahe) areas under the jurisdiction of the Union Territory of Puducherry.