Goa may ban bull trawling, LED fishing: Minister

The state government may amend existing fisheries laws to permanently ban bull trawling and LED fishing, Fisheries Minister Vinod Palienkar said on Wednesday.

"We are looking to amend the law to ban bull trawling and LED fishing, which is resulting in depletion of fish stock off Goa," said the minister in the BJP-led coalition government.

Fishermen in Goa have been demanding a ban on fishing with the help of LED lights, which attracts entire swarms of fish to its powerful glow underwater.

Marine scientists have suggested the practice abets indiscriminate fishing, which would eventually lead to a fish famine in the waters off Goa.

Bull trawling, according to experts, is another indiscriminate practice, frowned upon by traditional fishermen, because it involves two trawlers fishing with a common net virtually dredging all fish in their path from the water surface to the bed.

--IANS

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