Illegal Fishing

Indian Coast Guard seizes Pakistani boat, 11 crew for illegal fishing

The coast guard said the boats were intercepted during an operation carried out on December 10

No intention of ceding Katchatheevu island, says Lankan foreign minister

Sri Lanka has no intention to cede the Katchatheevu island, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said, calling the "rumblings" in India an issue between the political parties there. We have our diplomatic channels open to resolve the issue, but what is certain is Sri Lanka will never agree to let go of a part of Sri Lanka which is Katchatheevu and established so by international law," Herath on Thursday told Sirasa TV in response to a question on frequent arrests of Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters. Fishermen from both India and Sri Lanka are arrested frequently for inadvertently trespassing into each other's waters. India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on June 27 said the issue of Sri Lanka arresting Indian fishermen stems from an agreement during the Emergency, imposed in 1975, under which their rights for fishing in some specific areas were given up. Herath, however, brushed off the issue, saying that "rumblings" over the Katchatheevu issue are "political sparring ...

Sri Lankan Navy arrests 7 Indian fishermen for alleged illegal fishing

The Sri Lankan Navy on Tuesday said it arrested seven Indian fishermen and seized their trawler for allegedly poaching in the island nation's waters in the second such incident within a week. The arrests were made on Monday night in the territorial waters of the Talaimannar region, the Navy spokesman said. The arrested fishermen and their trawler would be handed over to the fisheries inspectorate in Mannar, the Navy said. The Navy on Sunday arrested 8 Indian fishermen. Fishermen from both India and Sri Lanka are arrested frequently for inadvertently trespassing into each other's waters. The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats in several alleged incidents of illegally entering the island nation's territorial waters. The Palk Strait, a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from bo

Sri Lankan Navy arrests 8 Indian fishermen for poaching, seizes 2 trawlers

The Sri Lankan Navy on Sunday said it has arrested eight Indian fishermen for allegedly fishing in the island nation's territorial waters and seized two fishing trawlers. The arrests took place on Saturday night "during a special operation conducted in the sea area north of Mannar", it said in a press statement. With this arrest, so far this year 18 Indian fishermen have been arrested and three trawlers confiscated, the statement said. The Navy said "in the dark hours of 11th January", the North Central Naval Command spotted a cluster of Indian fishing boats "engaging in illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters. In response, the Northern Naval Command deployed its Fast Attack Craft and North Central Naval Command its Inshore Patrol Craft to drive away those Indian fishing boats poaching in the sea area north of Mannar". "The operation resulted in the seizure of 2 Indian fishing boats and apprehension of 8 Indian fishermen who continued to remain in Sri Lankan waters," it said. The sei

Maha to deploy drones to monitor illegal fishing along coastline from Jan 9

In a first for Maharashtra, drones will be deployed to monitor illegal fishing along its 720-km coastline beginning January 9, a Fisheries Department official said on Wednesday. The drones will provide live footage of up to the 12-mile maritime boundary from nine locations across all seven coastal districts. The official said the streaming data collected by drones will be used to take legal action against unauthorised fishing boats. He said the drone system will be launched by Minister of State for Fisheries and Ports Nitesh Rane. "The minister will oversee the system through a live feed from the Fisheries Commissioner's Office. Streaming data collected by these drones will be used as evidence to take legal action against unauthorised fishing boats," the official said. He said the drone system will bring the entire maritime area of Maharashtra under camera surveillance, helping the government to curb illegal fishing. "It is an important step to protect marine resources and ensure

Uttar Pradesh: NGT directs action on illegal farming of African catfish

The National Green Tribunal has ordered action against the alleged illegal breeding and farming of the African catfish in Uttar Pradesh. Clarias gariepinus, colloquially known as the African catfish or the Thai magur, is banned in India and its farming and breeding are not permissible. The green body was hearing a plea claiming two people were breeding the banned fish variety in the Shahpur Nij Morta village of Ghaziabad district. In a recent order, a bench of National Green Tribunal Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava noted a 2019 order of the tribunal, according to which, "Breeding of exotic magur (catfish) is not allowed without the approval of the national committee on exotic fishes and also the state government concerned because of its potential to cause ecological damage in our country." The bench, also comprising Judicial Member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and Expert Member A Senthil Vel, said the matter concerning the breeding of exotic catfish or its hybrid Thai magur had

Gujarat govt extends fishing ban in Arabian sea till Aug 15; Cong opposes

The Gujarat government has decided to extend the ban on fishing activities in the Arabian Sea by a fortnight till August 15, a move the Congress claimed to be "unfair and reckless" which will cause financial losses to fishermen. A senior official from the Gujarat fisheries department on Sunday said the decision was taken in consultation with the central government after considering a representation made by the fishermen's association to allow more time for fish to breed. The government also took into account scientific data and weather conditions to reach the decision, he said, adding the change is also likely to be adopted by other states on the western coast. Since 2021, the annual fishing ban in the state remained in effect from June 1 till July 31. The state fisheries department on July 31 issued a notification, amending the Gujarat Fisheries (Amendment) Rules, 2020, which stated no person shall carry out any type of fishing in the inland and territorial waters from June 1 to .

75% of the world's industrial fishing vessels not publicly tracked: Study

About 75 per cent of the world's industrial fishing vessels are not publicly tracked, and much of that fishing happens around Africa and South Asia, according to a new study published in the journal Nature. Researchers have created a global map of large vessel traffic and offshore infrastructure and found a "remarkable" amount of activity previously "dark" to public monitoring systems, using machine learning and satellite imagery. The researchers, led by an international non-profit organisation Global Fishing Watch, Washington, US, also found that more than 25 per cent of transport and energy vessel activity also was missing from public tracking systems. The findings help shed light on the breadth and intensity of human industrial activity at sea, which they said has been changing. "The footprint of the Anthropocene is no longer limited to terra firma," said co-author Patrick Halpin, a professor of marine geospatial ecology at Duke University, UK. The researchers found that while

Coast Guard apprehends 2 Sri Lankan boats for fishing in Indian waters

The Coast Guard has apprehended two Sri Lankan fishing boats with 11 crew onboard for fishing in Indian exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and escorted them to Kakinada for further investigation. The fishing boats from the neighbouring country were apprehended by ICGS Vigraha, about 175 nautical miles from Kalingapatnam, on November 10 and brought to the shore on Saturday for interrogation. The Lankan vessels were engaged in fishing in Indian EEZ without valid licences and documents, according to an official release. As per the Maritime Zones of India Act 1981, fishing and poaching by foreign vessels in Indian EEZ is an offence and the Lankan vessels violated the Act along with provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Joint investigation and rummaging is being carried out with Marine Police, Fisheries Department, Customs and Intelligence Bureau at Kakinada. Subsequently, the fishing boats and crew will be handed over to Marine Fisheries Department and

World Economic Forum 2022: How data, tech can help combat illegal fishing

The seafood industry has positioned itself as stewards to combat IUU fishing, but they are ill-equipped to fully monitor their supply chains

Sri Lankan Navy arrests 22 Indian fishermen for alleged poaching

The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 22 Indian fishermen and seized two fishing trawlers for allegedly poaching in the country's territorial waters.

Lockdown or lawless tyranny?

India faces a human problem of unparalleled magnitude. It cannot be solved without humanity

Pakistan court relieves 350 Indians jailed for illegal fishing

Fishermen from both countries are harassed as there's no boundary between the two in the Arabian sea