Several incidents of fishermen belonging to Cuddalore and Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu being held off the Nellore coast in Andhra Pradesh have been reported since the annual fishing ban was lifted in mid-June this year. Fishermen here say that the primary reason for holding the Tamil Nadu fishermen was that they used trawlers and mechanised boats in their territory’. Two groups were captured at Tummalapenta and Ramateertham in Nellore district. Meanwhile, the boat operators representing Nellore and Prakasam districts in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu fishermen held a joint meeting in Chennai in late August. A joint decision was taken in our meeting held in Chennai in August. It was decided that fishing should be done on trawlers or mechanised boats only beyond 12 nautical miles from the coast in both the States. This enables small boat operators to fish safely. Those who violate the guidelines of the fishing boundary will have to be fined by local boat operators/fisher groups, former MLA of Kavali Assembly constituency in Nellore district, B. Masthan Rao told The Hindu. Tamil Nadu boat owners are engaging fishermen from Nellore district in their crew to catch fish off the Andhra Coast. Ironically, the majority of the Tamil Nadu boat operators belong to Nellore, and they can easily identify strategic places for fishing, added Mr. Rao. Nellore Joint Collector A. Mohammed Imtiaz said the Indian Coast Guard authorities have been requested to help the district administration prevent the seizure of boats and holding of fishermen from Tamil Nadu.