NAGAPATTINAM
Two groups of fishermen in the district conducted demonstrations at different locations on Friday warring over use of the banned purse seine nets for fishing.
Demanding permission to use the banned nets a few hundreds of fishers from hamlets in Chandrapadi area, staged a demonstration at Nandalar bridge, holding vehicular traffic for over an hour. On their part a similar number of fishers from Tranquebar area congregated at the town opposing the use of the banned nets. There was, however, no clash.
The overlapping of fishing grounds for the two groups of fishermen of Chandrapadi and Tranquebar that are separated by just a few kilometres had caused the conflict. The fishers in Tranquebar area had eschewed use of banned nets two years back, and had been critical of the continued use of such nets by their counterparts in Chandrapadi area.
Accompanied by senior officials of Fishing and Police departments, Collector Praveen P. Nair, rushed to Chandrapadi and prevailed upon the fishers to withdraw their demonstration with an assurance to convene peace talks next week. The protesters in Tranqebar whom the Collector met subsequently also relented and accepted to take part in the peace meeting, official sources said.
According to senior officials of fishing department, the fishers of hamlets in Chandrapadi area had sought a new deadline to suiting their convenience to do away with purse seine nets.
The district administration has time and again been cautioning fishers that use of purse seine nets will invite action under Fishing Regulation Act. As per the Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2016, the use of purse seine and pair seines nets are banned in the State.
In a communication issued last month before resumption of fishing activities, the District Collector had informed that committees had been formed with officails of Revenue, Police, Transport and Fisheries Department to take action on boats using the banned nets.
The fishers were warned that in the event of flouting of the directive, the catches, the vehicles used for transport, fishing nets and boats will be confiscated.
“We have been confiscating the catches and auctioning them. There has been no let up on our part,” Joint Director of Fisheries Amal Raj Xavier, Nagapattinam, said.
Even on Thursday, the fish catches from eight boats that were caught using banned nets were confiscated and auctioned, he said.