Date: 17th October 2019
To,
Rohita R. Naik,
Superintendent of
Fisheries,
Panjim, Goa.
Subject : Your letter dated
11/10/2019 with subject Problems faced by small scale fishing communities in
Goa’s rivers
Dear Rohita,
Thank you for your
above mentioned letter asking for details of documents [Vessel Registration
Certificate (VRC), Fishing Vessel Licences, Fishing Net Licence Book] of
fishermen facing problems due to water sports activities by Aquasail
Distribution in response to our letter to the Fisheries Minister dated
26/08/2019.
All the fishermen in
Odxel, Siridao, Cacra and Nauxim using motorized canoes are facing the problem.
Now till November 02, 2019 they are busy preparing for Public Hearing on Nauxim
AHOY Marina that promises to increase water sports boats in Zuari and
disrupting the fishing completely several times more than Aquasail Distribution.
Therefore you are requested to access documents
from Fisheries department records as they were issued by your office as it is
macro problem affecting all the fishermen and fisher communities.Alternatively you can visit all these villages
and hold consultations to know about the matter. If needed, we will facilitate
the visits. However make sure that NOC are not issued to Aqua sail this year.
You may check the department records when Director Shamila Monteiro had revoked
NOC to Aquasail distribution and restored after nine months due to Political
pressure from then Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar.
Sharing important
study abstracts for your information on the subject: 10.5 of SSF Guidelines
that requires implementation of holistic
and inclusive ecosystem approaches in the fisheries sector. Approach in
locating Aquasail boats in Zuari river is not holistic, its not inclusive and
it is hostile to ecosystem. A.K. Whitfield from South African Institute for
Aquatic Biodiversity, South Africa and A. Becker from School of Biological,
Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney,
Australia has jointly published their study titled “Impact of recreational
motor boats on fishes : A Review” in Marine Pollution Bulletin Vol. 83 pages
24-31 in 2014. Sharing abstract their study to harm Marina boats and water
sports boats could cause to biology and ecology of fish: “A considerable amount of research has been conducted on the impacts of
recreational boating activities on fishes but little or no synthesis of the
information has been undertaken. This review shows that motor boats impact on
the biology and ecology of fishes but the effects vary according to the species
and even particular size classes. Direct hits on fishes by propellers are an
obvious impact but this aspect has been poorly documented. Alterations in the
wave climate and water turbidity may also influence fishes and their habitats,
especially submerged and emergent plant beds. Sound generated by boat motors
can also influence the communication and behaviour of certain species.
Pollution arising from fuel spillages, exhaust emissions and antifouling paints
all have detrimental effects on fishes. Finally, the use of recreational boats
as vectors of aquatic invasive organisms is very real and has created major
problems to the ecology of aquatic systems.”
Further Sofia
Jain-Schlaepfer, Eric Fakan, Jodie L. Rummer, Mark I. McCormick from ARC Centre
of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and College of Science and Engineering,
James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia together with
Stephen D. Simpson from Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental
Sciences, University of Exeter, Geoffrey Pope, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK
has published their joint study titled “Impact of motorboats on fish embryos
depends on engine type” in a Journal named Conservation Physiology Volume 6,
2018. Abstract of their study is reproduced and worth noting as to what could
be the impact of motorboats that aquasail distribution attracts in Zuari and
resultant impact on marine ecology. “Human
generated noise is changing the natural underwater soundscapes worldwide. The
most pervasive sources of underwater
anthropogenic noise are motorboats, which have been found to negatively affect several
aspects of fish biology. However, few studies have examined the effects of
noise on early life stages, especially the embryonic stage, despite embryo
health being critical to larval survival and recruitment. Here, we used a novel
setup to monitor heart rates of embryos from the staghorn damselfish
(Amblyglyphidodon curacao) in shallow reef conditions, allowing us to examine
the effects of in situ boat noise in context with real-world exposure. We found
that the heart rate of embryos increased in the presence of boat noise, which
can be associated with the stress response. Additionally, we found 2-stroke
outboard-powered boats had more than twice the effect on embryo heart rates
than did 4-stroke powered boats, showing an increase in mean individual heart
rate of 1.9% and 4.6%, respectively. To our knowledge this is the first
evidence suggesting boat noise elicits a stress response in fish embryo and
highlights the need to explore the ecological ramifications of boat noise
stress during the embryo stage. Also, knowing the response of marine organisms
caused by the sound emissions of particular engine types provides an important
tool for reef managers to mitigate noise pollution.” In this context water
sports installation in Zuari river is a major set back to ecosystem approach advocated for fisheries. Goa Government through
Fisheries department has commissioned study in Zuari river to find out impact
of water sports boats on marine ecology and on fishing activities but study is
delayed by one year due to lack of finance and file is pending in the Goa
Finance Ministry for so long. It is safe to conclude from the way state of
affairs are that Goa Government is sabotaging prosperity of small scale fishing
activities in a planed manner and we strongly condemn this attitude of Goa
Government.
Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely,
Sd/-
Maggie Silveira
President, Goa State
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