Fisheries minister Vinod Palyekar on Tuesday instructed the department to crack down on illegal fishing activities, including fishing with LED lamps, through the formation of squads from the New Year onwards.”We will form squads that will be placed at all jetties in the state. Their job will be to monitor the waters for any illegal fishing activities and confiscate the vessels concerned. The squads will be asked to submit a report to the department every eight days,” Palyekar told TOI. The central government has ordered a ban on fishing with the use of LED lamps across India following a demand in November this year. The initiative of forming squads is a move to ensure the rule is strictly implemented in Goa.”Fisheries officers will be a part of this squad and if they see any illegal equipment, even that will be confiscated. This initiative will be implemented from January onwards,” Palyekar said. Traditional fishermen’s petrol and diesel subsidies for 2015-16 and 2016-17 are being granted, the fisheries minister said. “We’ve cleared over 200 applications. Close to Rs 1 crore has been granted to fund subsidies,” he said.
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