Owners of mechanised boats thronged the Fisheries department office here in dozens on Wednesday afternoon seeking permission to operate their boats once the 61-day fishing ban is lifted on Thursday. Assistant Director Sivaramachandran held discussions with boat owners for several hours. Sub-Collector S.M. Prasanth, and DRO M. Veerappan, were also involved in hectic parleys. The talks remained inconclusive till late in the night. While officials left the office, fishermen continued to stay. Only 71 boats currently have permission to venture into the sea once the ban is lifted. Another 163 mechanised boats will not be allowed, as they flouted the Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1983, by engaging in stay-fishing in September last year. According to the rules, mechanised boats are allowed to fish only between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. This also led to a standoff between the country boat fishermen and those operating mechanised boats. Moreover, many of the mechanised boats violated the norms for registration wherein boats could have a maximum length of 20 metres and an engine power of 150 HP. The then Collector N. Venkatesh had ordered an indefinite stay of operation of unregistered mechanised boats till further orders. The mechanised boat owners subsequently filed a petition before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court seeking permission for fishing. The court asked the owners to seek registration from the Marine mercantile department. However, the MMD again put the ball in the court of the State government. As of now, the mechanised boats have not been operated for the last nine months. Fisheries department officials were unavailable for comments.