AGSSRFU letter on problems faced by small-scale fishers at Campal Beach

30.04.2025

To,

Director of Fisheries,

Panaji, Goa

To,

Captain of Ports,

Panaji, Goa

To,

Principal Chief Conservator of Forest,

Panaji, Goa

To,

Director of Tourism, 

Government of Goa,

Panaji, Goa

To,

Commisioner,

Corporation of City of Panjim,

Panaji, Goa

Subject: Seeking solutions to problems faced by small-scale fishers at Campal Beach, Panjim

Sir/Madam,

It has been brought to our urgent attention by our members that their canoes stationed at Campal are facing various kinds of impediments from Directorate of Tourism, Forest Department and CCP combine. These local fishers who undertake fishing in Mandovi river are told from April 06, 2025 by various officials of these departments that their canoes looks dirty and they must not dock their canoes at the present venue.

What is dirty and beautiful is based on subjective bias of the beholder. All Goa Small Scale Responsible Fisheries Union (AGSSRFU) strongly objects to referring Goa's traditional fishing occupation and their canoes as "dirty".

Parking of several casino vessels in the middle of Mandovi river has already drastically reduced fishing spaces for small scale fishers of campal Beach and other villages on Mandovi riparian coast past few decades. These casino vessels are truly Monstrosities of Mandovi that are allowed to flourish as a strategy to disrupt fishing in Mandovi river.

Further we wish to revive the memory that traditional canoes parking spaces at Campal Beach has been progressively encroached upon by Forest department by undertaking plantations of Cajurina and Mangroves, and by other State Authorities by constructing cycle track on campal Beach to benefit tourism that has blocked canoe parking spaces already and were shifted to its present site.

AGSSRFU considers this as sustained aggression against Goa's traditional fishing occupation and calls upon urgent attention of your office to do away with above cited impediments to fishing communities with immediate effect to enable fishers to carry their occupation without any trouble from CCP, Tourism Department, and Forest Department. 

AGSSRFU reserves right to undertake all the necessary actions within the framework of existing law in case your office fails to protects interests of fishing communities at Campal Beach.

We hope that you will act to defence Goa's fishing based occupations and no longer continue as harbingers of hatred against campal fishers referring to them in violent narrative framework as "dirty". We reject this narrative totally and completely and you are requested to change your approach towards fishing communities and be respectful and treat us with respect that we deserve for our hard work to earn our livelihoods and support our families.

Thanking You.

Yours Truly,

Shaila D'mello 

President,

AGSSRFU 

Laximan Mangueshkar, 

Secretary,

AGSSRFU