Traditional fishermen and boat owners from across Goa, along with Fisheries Minister Avertano Furtado, met Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar at his Altinho residence and submitted a memorandum with a demand to impound LED lights, bull trawlers and high-speed engines. The fishermen and boat owners highlighted the allegedly illegal use of LED lights for fishing, bull trawling and high-speed engines (engines exceeding 300 hp) and claimed that if these destructive gears of fishing were not seized immediately, then within a year, not a single fish would be left in the waters and Goans would be deprived of one of their favourite dishes. Reportedly agreeing with the opinion of fishermen, Parsekar stated that it was the need of the hour to preserve the marine resources and instructed Furtado and Fisheries Director Dr Shamila Monteiro to take immediate action in the matter. Furtado has also said that he completely supported the demands of the traditional fishermen and boat owners and he would do justice to them immediately. During the meeting, Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott had given Furtado and Monteiro two more days to impound the equipment, but the latter requested a week to complete all formalities and take action. The All Goa Fishing Boat Owners’ Union also made other demands, such as increasing the fishing ban period from 61 days to 120 days, replacing scrap boats, regulating mesh size and shape of nets, banning licenses for new fish meal plants. GRE joint general secretary Olencio Simoes said that the fishermen’s demands, which were being made for the last 20 years, were aimed and preserving the marine ecology, and hence, the Fisheries Department should implement the same immediately. The other fishing and boat owners’ associations that met Furtado included: Old Cross Fishing Canoe Owners Cooperative Society, Baina Ramponkar Fishing Canoe Owners Society, Desterro Fishermen Association, Shree Shantadurga Fishermen Association (Cacra), Akhil Goa Kshatriya Pagi Samaj (Canacona), Canacona Taluka Gabit Fishermen (Talpona Sadolsem), Nirvikar Fishing Co-op Society Ltd (Morjim), Ovleshwar Fishermen Association (Firguembhat, Nerul), A V C B Traditional Fishermen Association (Assolna), Traditional Fishermen’s Association of North Goa (Nerul), Vailankanni Saibin Fishermen Association (Dandadi Nerul), Baga Sant Khuris Fishermen Association (Calangute), and Laxmi Narayan Fishermen Association (Arambol), All Goa Fishing Boat Owners Union, Chapora Boat Owner Fisheries Cooperative Society Ltd, Vasco Fishing Boat Owners Marketing Cooperative Society Ltd, South Goa Mechanized Boat Owners Society, Mandovi Fishermen Marketing Cooperative Society Ltd, Zuari Marketing Fisheries Cooperative Society Ltd and Cutbona Fishermen Cooperative Society Ltd.
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