Review meeting on illegal mechazised fishing held

On 16.10.2025 review meeting was held at the request of All Goa Small Scale Responsible Fisheries Union (AGSSRFU). Senior officers of the Fisheries Department including the Director, Deputy Director, staff entrusted with enforcement at Sea of Fisheries department, Senior officers of Captain of Ports, Deputy Superitendent of Police Coastal Security, Police Inspectors of Coastal Security Police Stations at Panaji and Harbor were present at the meeting. 40 members of AGSSRFU participated at the monitoring meeting. The High Court Judgement was circulated to the officials by AGSSRFU and point by point review was taken up.

It was revealed during discussion that there was move to take canoes of SSF on hire by Fisheries department to raid illegal trawlers and purse seiners. This move was rejected by fishers during the meeting itself. Authorities are held responsible to provide for the raiding boats.

It's important to recall High Court petition between All Goa Small Scale Responsible Fisheries Union V/s Government of Goa, Writ Petition 370 of 2024. The directions issued in the Judgement are as follows:-


“i) Regular Patrolling by the officials from the Fisheries Department and Captain of Ports especially in the Mandovi and Zuari River.



ii) Patrol boats of the Fisheries department as well as Coastal Security Police must be stationed at the Dona Paula Jetty and not only at Vasco-da-Gama, because the illegal purse seine fishing takes place mostly at the Siridao/Dona Paula bay area.



iii) The Patrolling should also be after sunset as mostoften purse seine fishing takes place under the cover of darkness.



iv) The fisheries department to procure the required number of boats for patrolling and the officials of fisheries department and captain of ports should also be assisted by the coastal police. 



v) On detection of illegal purse seine fishing by trawler or vessel, the vessel should be seized and prosecution initiated against the vessel operator/owner in accordance with sections 18 & 21 of the Goa Daman and Diu Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1980.



vi) The Respondent nos. 2 to 4 and 7 should establish an effective monitoring, control and surveillance system to control and detect the illegal purse seine fishing, the system could be by equipping the patrol boats used by the coastal police and fisheries department with radar systems to track vessels used in purse seine fishing. 


vii) All fishing boats registered with captain of ports and fisheries department should have compulsorily fitted with GPS Tracking devices, so that their movements can be regulated and monitored. 



viii) The Captain of Ports and Coastal Police should maintain a register to record the number of rounds taken while patrolling.”


It was great that this meeting even took place. That meeting left us with important lessons on level of preparedness and eternal needed to defend Coastal aquatic systems with small scale fishers (SSF) as Frontline defenders, as Custodians, as Stewards.