District collector Mohammed Y Safirulla warned fishermen not to indulge in pelagic fishing using pair trawls and asked trawl boats to stay out of the coastal waters. He said that there was a ban on the production of pelagic nets and anybody found violating it would be prosecuted. The collector’s announcement came in the backdrop of the tense situation prevailing in the harbour following the seizure of two boats that were engaged in twin-trawling in the Kochi backwaters off Puthuvype on Wednesday. The boats were seized by the fishermen. Under the Kerala Marine Fisheries Regulation Act (KMFRA), boats without licence are not supposed to operate in the state’s waters. It says that mechanized vessels should operate outside 12 nautical miles from the coast. But there have been incidents of trawl boats resorting to illegal fishing practices instead of demersal trawling. In pelagic trawling, the net is towed through the water column and targets all kinds of fish, including sardines, mackerel and anchovies caught by traditional fisher folk.
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