New Delhi, Mar 25: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday flagged in the Lok Sabha the issue of illegal fishing practices in the territorial waters of Kerala and urged the government to enforce the prohibition on bull trawling and the use of artificial lights or LED lights by involving the Coast Guard and the Indian Navy.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, Tharoor said the government of India has prohibited harmful fishing methods such as bull or pair trawling and the use of artificial lights or LED lights for fishing in Indian waters in our Exclusive Economic Zone.
But these practices are continuing in Kerala waters and outsiders are conducting exploitative large-scale fishing, which ultimately endangers marine resources through rapid fish resource depletion and threatens the livelihoods of our small and traditional fisherfolk, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.
Additionally, the traditional fishermen have faced assaults by bull trawlers and fishers using LED lights, further highlighting the urgent need to protect their livelihoods, he said.
“These practices also go against India’s Blue economy policy framework, the Maritime India Vision 2030 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” Tharoor pointed out.
“I, therefore, urge the Minister (for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying) to enforce the prohibition on and effectively curb bull trawling and the use of artificial lights or LED lights by involving the Coast Guard and the Indian Navy in this matter and strengthening coordination between them,” he said. (PTI)
