The gram sabha of the Bastora panchayat on Sunday sought a blanket ban on the fish brought in from outside Goa. Villagers also demanded that only the surplus marine fish caught by local trawlers, or that fish which is not consumed by Goans, should be allowed to be exported from the state. Expressing concerns over the formalin episode, the villagers strongly pitched for a blanket ban by the state government on fish imports. The villagers said the authorities should also impose a ban on export of fish from Goa. A proposal to this effect was moved by villagers Andrew D’Souza, Aaron Araujo, Agnelo Fernandes and Shantaram Kalangutkar at the gram sabha held on Sunday. Speaking on the proposal, sarpanch Savio Martin said the state government gives subsidy to trawler and boat owners and not to fishmeal plants in the state. If we resolve to have a total ban on the exports of fish then what will happen to the large quantities of fish that we locals don’t consume, he asked. The fish will go waste. Hence I would like to suggest that instead of having a total ban on exports we can propose that trawler owners should be allowed to export only the surplus fish or that fish which local don’t consume, Martin said. He favoured a detailed study on the matter so that the proposal can be discussed at the next gram sabha threadbare and can be passed as a resolution. The villagers also raised several other issues at the meeting.