A section of fishermen rode about 200 boats with black flags on the Bay of Bengal near the shoreline across the Chief Secretariat on Friday to demand enforcement of the ban on purse seine nets.
According to the protesters, which include owners of Fibre Reinforced Plastic vessels, some fishermen continued to use the banned purse seine nets for fishing and hence posed a threat to the fish and other marine resources.
The purse seine net is banned by several governments as it had a ruinous impact on marine life.
The protest on Friday was an escalation of an ongoing stir by fishermen communities in about 18 villages in the Kanakachettikulam-Moorthikuppam coastal belt to press for the ban on purse seine nets.
Another section of fishermen have been protesting demanding permission to use these nets to sustain their livelihood. Three weeks ago, a section of traditional fishermen were blocked by the police as they thronged the Assembly to meet Chief Minister N. Rangasamy and press for this demand.