No firm commitment from Fisheries Minister of Goa to stop illegal fishing in Zuari river

19^th January 2015 at 7.00 am 10 trawlers engaged in illegal fishing. At 3.15 pm 6 trawlers engaged in illegal fishing. In the evening Fisheries minister Avertano Furtado, MLA Benjamin Silva - who operates six fishing trawlers in Velim - and Director of Fisheries Sharmila Monteiro visited Cacra supposedly in connection with constrution of retaining wall/jetty that Cacra fishermen had asked for. 

No firm commitment to arrest trawlers engaged in illegal trawling came from the Fisheries Minister. He was comletely casual about illegal fishing in Zuari river. When they were in Cacra two trawlers were illegally fishing in Zuari and all three of them saw but none called up the police and initiated action against the trawlers. The inaction of the Minister and the Director speaks volumes on his commitment to stop illegal fishing in Zuari.

Minister casually told Director of fisheries to station permanent fisheries patrol boat in Zuari river and Director refused to obliged. Minister did not even reprimand her for her gross inefficiency.