Bhayandar: In a significant move, the government authorities has decided to cancel the licences and registrations of fishing vessels for using light-emitting diode (LED) lights as artificial fish attractors.
A government resolution (GR) aimed at ending this illegal practice and also a destructive way of catching fish, was recently passed by the government authorities.
The LED fishing ban will encompass a radius of 12 nautical miles, which is the boundary of jurisdiction for the state. As per the officials of the department of fisheries, the use of LED lights is posing a threat to marine life in the deep sea. Traditional fishermen have been opposing this type of illegal fishing.
“It is a welcome move, but it is equally important for the law enforcing agencies to set up a proper mechanism to implement the orders and punish the violators,” said Bernard D’mello, who is a former corporator in the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) from the coastal belt of Uttan and also the working president of Maharashtra Machhimar Kruti Samiti.
Apart from the cancellation of certificates and licences, the boats with LED lights will be seized, officials said. In fishing, using lights, fishes are attracted by holding up a light above water or suspending it below water. Fishes are then caught using nets.
