Traditional fishermen in Goa, under the banners of the National Fish workers’ Forum (NFF) and the Goenchea Ramponkaranchea Ekvott (GRE), have urged the state’s Fisheries Director, Shamila Monteiro, to ban the use of LED lights, bull trawling and high speed China-made engines. Goa has over 80,000 small and traditional fishermen and more than 1,000 fishing trawlers. Olencio Simoes, secretary of NFF and joint general secretary of the GRE, in a memorandum urged the director to initiate steps within seven days to protect the livelihood of fish workers. The future of Goa’s fishermen was in jeopardy, the memorandum said: The fishing gears used by the trawlers are against law and will destroy livelihood and marine ecology of our State. Agnelo Rodrigues, president of the GRE, said that LED lights used within territorial waters is a violation of the Goa Marine Fishing Regulation Act.
2016, The Hindu