The Government of India in the Department of Fisheries has imposed uniform fishing bans in Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) beyond territorial waters for both East and West coasts under their Order No. 30035/l5/97-Fy (T-l) Vol.V Dt.30.03.2021 (copy attached) as in the following:
East coast – from l5’r’ April to l4’r’June 2021 (both days inclusive) (61 days)
West coast – from l” June to 3l” July 2021 (both days inclusive) (61 days)
The ban is imposed for all fishing vessels save and except the traditional non-motorized fishing boats.
NPSSFW has moved the Department of Fisheries of the Government of India with the following observations and demands –
A. 61 days’ ban is not at all sufficient for regeneration of natural fish stock. The fishing ban period should be extended to at least 90 days (3 months) for all fishing vessels in the Indian EEZ save and except the manual fishing boats which are exempted from the ban. The small scale fish workers affected by the ban should be provided with livelihood compensation / support of Rs. 5,000/- per head per month during the ban period.
B. In view of the fact that there are manual, motorised and mechanised fishing fleets in our marine fisheries sector and also in view of the fact that more than 80% of the marine catch is taken by the mechanised sector which is responsible for overfishing in near shore areas, the fishing ban period for mechanised fishing fleet should be further extended to 120 days (4 months) on both East and West coasts of the country.