Goa govt plans to relax ban on fishing

The Goa government is planning to relax the ban on fishing in the state. An ordinance will soon be promulgated for fixing the dates for resumption of fishing.

The dates are expected to be August 1 for trawlers and July 16 for motorised canoes, according to Joaquim Alemao, Goa's fisheries minister.

This was decided at a meeting of trawler owners and fishermen convened by the minister himself at the Secretariat today. The meet was called to deliberate on various issues concerning the fishing community.

Alemao said that the "no fishing period" will be in affect from June 10 to July 15 for motorised canoes of up to 36 ft with 10 HP motor, and from June 10 to July 31 for trawlers.

Victor Gonsalves, spokesman of the All Goa Trawler Owners' Association (AGTOA), suggested that as the south-west monsoon hit Goa before June 10, it would make sense if the ban came into effect from June 1.

Incidentally, this year as well, early rains brought fishing operations to a close by the third week of May.

Gonsalves also raised the issue of value-added tax (VAT) and said the fishing industry should be exempted as they were under the sales tax regime.

He also raised the issue of pricing of fish for exports. On this, the minister agreed to convene a meeting of exporters, freezer owners, and other stakeholders.

"The idea is that the fisheries department would directly communicate exporters' rate to trawler owners, thus putting an end to the middlemen," Gonsalves pointed out.

It was also mentioned by some members that fish from the western coast has high demand and as such should get a better rate than fish from the eastern coast.