Trawler and mini purse seine illegal fishing in River Zuari

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