Avoid purse seine nets, TN govt tells fishermen

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday requested fishermen not to use banned purse seine nets and abide by the court orders. The request was made at a meeting convened by fisheries minister D Jayakumar with the representatives of fishermen from Cuddalore, Nagapattinam and Villupuram. Purse seine nets ruin the ecosystem and also the livelihood of traditional fishermen.
“The minister requested the fishermen to not violate the court orders but set out to deep sea availing government support,” an official release said. Chief secretary K Shanmugam and DGP J K Tripathy were present.
Maintaining that they would suffer huge loss due to the ban and it would take three to five years to move onto alternative fishing methods, the fishermen requested the government to allow them to use purse siene nets for six months a year.