Date: 24/10/2017
To,
Minister of Fisheries,
Government of Goa,
Secretariat, Porvorim, Goa
To,
The Secretary (Fisheries),
Government of Goa,
Secretariat, Porvorim, Goa
Subject:
Trawler and mini purse seine illegal fishing in River Zuari
Dear
Sirs,
We
write to you yet again today to urge urgent action against illegal trawler
fishing in River Zuari. For the past few days there trawlers are sighted very
close to the shores from Siridao toOdxel. Few serious this illegal trawler
fishing has taken place during night time from 6.00 pm to 12.00 pm mid night.
We have phoned marine police but they told us to get fisheries department to
crackdown on illegal trawler fishing in Zuari.
Here
are the details of illegal fishing:
On
14/10/2017 at 8.00 am around 60 mini purse seine boats carried on illegal
fishing.
On
20/10/2017 at 6.00 pm one trawler started with illegal fishing. This number of
trawlers went up to four at 9.20 pm.
On
17/10/2017 at 11.15 pm one trawler carried on illegal fishing very close to
Odxel-Cacra-Nauxi shore.
On
23/10/2017 at 8.00 pm two trawlers carried on illegal fishing while in morning
at 7.00 am fifteen (15) mini purse seine boats carried on illegal fishing
within 100 meters from Nauxi-Cacra-Odxel coast.
We
wish to remind you that office of the Fisheries department had taken decisive
action against illegal trawling as well as mini purse seine boats in Zuari. Now
they have began to return back and we fear that administration of fisheries
department in Zuari may stay in collapsed state again. Hence we write to you
this time in little detail on threats posed by trawlers fishing in Zuari River
after our detail letter to your office dated 14/10/2017.
Trawlers
negatively impacts on traditional fishermen. We wish to raise nine issues:
1. Firstly,
the board that the trawlers descend into river and drags kills lots of small
fish life. We know that so much of small fish life is being killed through
trawling and the Sea birds eat them at river surface. As small fish dies that
population of adult fish too reduces.
2. Secondly
these trawlers are illegal, licensed by Department of Fisheries to carry on
fishing in Arabian Sea and not in Zuari River.
3. Thirdly,
these trawlers come very close to the shore and with that we cannot get any fish.
They take away all available fish.
4. Fourthly,
the thorny fish sometimes trawlers discard in river and that fish get rotten
and get entangled with our fishermen’s Gill nets. That time our workers
hesitate to sort this rotten fish in bare hands.
5. Fifthly,
if they continue to catch fish like this in river, then how fish will be born,
breed and multiply?
6. Sixth,
these days there was so much of prawn, sardine and solar in river, they trawled
and finished off everything by putting nets at night time.
7. Seventh,
often these trawlers tear off our Gill nets causing us financial loss. If we
ask them to compensate they refuse and argue with us in the river itself. These
kind of situations has led to anger and frustration amongst traditional
fishermen and there are already few incident where in fishermen ventured into
the river forcefully and taken over the offending trawlers and mini-purse seine
boatsand brought them to theSiridao-OdxelZuari river shore followed by tensed
confrontations.
8. When
trawlers and mini purse seine boats are carrying on illegal fishing it makes a
mockery of law and order situation in Zuari River.
9. Goa
University has already caused lots of land to be taken over for the past three
decades and people from Cacra, Nauxim, villages are denied rights to cultivate
and now also caused tremendous pressure from illegal trawling and mini purse
seine boats. What are we to do?
We
also wish to inform you that Superintendent of Fisheries based on our complaint
has issued letter to the trawlers not to carry on trawling in River Zuari. We
want strict implementation of this directive. Here is the online link to the
letter dated22/12/2014 for your ready reference:
https://bharatmukti.blogspot.in/2016/11/goa-fisheries-department-is-aware-of.html
Now
the illegal fishing is going on in the night time we again request you to act
on this urgently to stop it and book the erring trawlers as well as mini purse
seine boats. We will co-operate with you in this endeavor in whatever way
required and possible, so that we protect and contribute towardsour plan for comprehensive
defense of Rivers and traditional fishermen in Goa.
Thanking
you once again,
Yours
Sincerely,
Maggie Silveira,
President, Goa State
Sanjay Pereira
Convener, Cacra unit
Rohidas Andrade
Convener, Bambolim unit
Socorro Braganza
Convener, Siridao Unit
Anthony Cardozo
Convener, Curca Unit
Sitaram Pereira
Convener, Odxel Unit
Milind Palkar
Convener, Nauxi unit
Ms. KalpanaDiukar
Co-convenor, Odxel Unit
Chandrakant Lotlikar
Secretary, Siridao Unit
Hanuman Dias
Co-convenor, Odxel Unit
Honu Divkar,
Co-convener,Odxel Unit
Deu Kankonkar
Secretary, Nauxi Unit
Yeshwant Shirvoikar,
Co-convener,Odxel Unit
MangueshSawant,
Co-convener, Odxel unit
Amir Mardolkar,
Co-convener,Nauxim Unit
Francis Coelho,
Co-convener,Nauxim Unit
Ms. Jaya Kuttikar
Co-convenor, Odxel Unit
Dulba Pereira,
Co-convener,Cacra Unit
Jonu Shirvoikar,
Co-convenor, Odxel Unit
Santosh Gauns,
Co-convener,Cacra Unit
Ms. Sheila D’mello,
Co-convener, Cacra Unit
Santosh Kukalkar,
Co-convener, Cacra Unit
Ashok Kukalkar
Co-convenor, Odxel Unit
Ganashyam Diukar
Co-convenor, Odxel
