Panaji: In order to track down the fishing using LED lights, which is legally banned, Goa Fisheries department has started intense checks along all the jetties from Wednesday.
State Fisheries Minister Nilkant Halarnkar told reporters on Wednesday that the fishing trawlers are allowed to venture in the sea only after they are certified to be free from LED lights.
The fishing season has began in the state from August 01 onwards in the state.
Halarnkar said that the special passes are issued to the trawlers, once it is certified that they are not fitted with the LED lights.
“Only those trawlers which are carrying passes will be allowed to fish in the Sea,” the minister said adding that Coastal Police have been asked to inspect the trawlers.
Halarnkar said that the Coastal Police have already caught one trawler fitted with the LED light and offence has been registered against the owner of the vessel.
The fishing using LED lights has been banned in the state. The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Wednesday asked the Directorate of Fisheries and the Goa Coastal Police to inspect trawlers at the respective jetties to ensure that the crew does not carry generators and LED (light) fishing used for bull trawling while venturing into the sea for fishing.
