Navhind Times

Panaji, Jan 4: Security checks of trawlers by Coast Guard officials have caused an adverse effect on fishing and fish catch, said the chairman of Mandovi Fishermen Marketing Cooperative Society Ltd, Mr Sitakant Parab.

As a result of the recent identity and other checks, a sizeable number of crew members from other states who work on these fishing trawlers have not come back to Goa and this has effected the business. For the last one week or so, fish arrival in the markets has also been low.

Mr Parab said that despite many reminders, the licences of wirelesses used by the fishermen have not been renewed. As cell phones do not function on the high seas, wireless becomes a necessity while fishing, he said.

Mr Parab also informed that after the Mumbai terror attacks, a joint meeting of the Coast Guard, coastal police, Customs, and fishing trawler owners had decided to issue identity cards to all the fishing staff through the Directorate of Fisheries but till date no development has taken place. He further said that the last year?s applications for identity cards were processed recently. Some fishermen have alleged that during search operations some Coast Guard officials demand fish from their catch which also effects their business.

Though the coastal police have been deploying two policemen regularly at the Malim jetty for verification of the crew members, it becomes difficult to finish the exercise in a short span of time as the jetty has around 4,000-5,000 crew members, said Mr Parab. He informed that soon they would be meeting the Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat and the Fisheries Minister and other officials to sort out these matters.