Dakshina Kannada Member of Parliament Nalin Kumar Kateel said here on Saturday that he will take up the matter of coastal States seizing fishing boats of each other and imposing heavy fines when they ingress into their territory in sea, with the Union government to find out a solution. Speaking at an interactive meeting with fishermen organised by Karnataka unit of the Indian Coast Guard at its office here, Mr. Kateel said that he felt that the matter of territory violation by fishing boats should be applied only at the country level and not at the inter-State level. Fishermen should be allowed to fish anywhere within the territory of the country without taking into account inter-State factor, he said.
Earlier Nitin Kumar, former Chairman of Karnataka Fisheries Development Corporation, and others mentioned that Kerala had seized some fishing boats of Karnataka recently on the charge that they were fishing within 12 nautical miles from Kerala coast. The boats were imposed fine up to ₹10 lakh, he said adding that Kerala has been harassing Karnataka fishermen on the guise of ingression though the State’s fishermen were fishing beyond 12 nautical miles. Others said that the same issue also cropped up when fishing boats entered Goa and Maharashtra waters. When intervened, the Kerala Fisheries Department officials did not listen to the Karnataka Fisheries Department officials, they said.
Representing the operators of purse seine boats, Shashi Kumar Bengre demanded that the College of Fisheries in Mangaluru should be upgraded as an university of fisheries sciences. Responding to it, Mr. Kateel said that the State government is seized of the matter and the demand is before the government.
Representing trawl boat operators Chetan Bengre demanded that large size boats should be allowed for fishing. Mr. Kateel said that the Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai assured on Saturday that the issues pertaining to use of kerosene by fishing boats will be addressed within two days. The MP said that fishing activity in Karnataka is contributing significantly to the nation’s economy and ensuring safety of fishermen at sea should be shouldered by all. He appreciated the efforts of coast guard for spreading awareness on life saving and other safety measures through community interaction programme.
M.V. Baadkar, Commander, Indian Coast Guard Region (West) said that the coast guard is taking steps to make sea safer for sea farers and everyone should be responsible and abide by regulations. The coast guard saved 272 lives at sea and apprehended drugs worth ₹2,923 crore during 2022. “It shows our commitment in safety and secrutiy of maritime borders,” he said. P.K. Mishra, Karnataka Commander of the Indian Coast Guard, said that fishermen should keep the coast guard in loop while deep in sea. It helped in search and rescue operations and monitoring by the coast guard. Merchant ships did it while entering the Indian waters, he said.