According to Goa fisheries director S C Verenkar all the four major fishing jetties in Goa – Chapora, Malim, Cutbona and Vasco – will be sealed, thus grounding about 850 fishing trawlers across the state. He informed that the fuel pumps at the jetties will also be sealed. In this period the oil companies have been asked not to supply diesel to these pumps during the period.
He informed that the coastal police is keeping strict vigil on major fish landing centres in Goa and that the coast guard has also been requested to assist in the enforcement of the ban. The ban is on all mechanized fishing vessels or trawlers and also to canoes fitted with outboard motors of over 10 horsepower.
The purpose of the ban helps conserve fish during their breeding period and also helps to protect the lives of fishermen during the monsoons when the seas tend to get rough. The fish production in Goa is encouraging as the production from January to December 2009 had slipped to 80,000 tons in comparison to the 88,000 tons during the same period in the previous year. Verenkar also said that the government is on the verge of finalizing a consultant for the development and upgrading of the four major landing centres in Goa.
