The Madras High Court today took up suo motu an article in a leading English daily on January 12 on trapping of non-commercial fish, directed Advocate General and the Amicus Curaie appointed by it to sit together and ensure no trawler or mechanized fishing vessel is permitted to carry on fishing within three nautical miles of the coast.
The first bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M M Sundresh before which the above suo motu petition came up, stated this after perusing the report filed by the Amicus.
It noted that the report had suggested the nesting session was only till about March-end and the mechanism under existing law was to be strengthened.
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He had proposed that the fisheries department by itself may not be able to take corrective steps and assistance can be sought to increase coastal patrolling by the authorities, including Coastal Protection Group and Coast Guard to ensure no trawler or mechanized fishing vessel is permitted to fish within three nautical miles of the coast.
"We thus call upon the fisheries department monitoring the aspect to take assistance from the other authorities,"it said.
The bench also impleaded the central government, Coast Guard and some other authorities as respondents and posted the matter for further hearing to March 2.
The January 12 article 'Murder Most Foul: 35 Turtles Washed Ashore' was treated as suo motu by the first bench, which had already appointed T Mohan as Amicus during the last hearing and directed him to submit his report.
