Irate members of the fishing community will gather at various sea fronts across the coastal areas of Uttan near Bhayandar on Monday to launch a peaceful agitation to register their protest against the decision taken by the government to reduce fishing ban period from 61 days to 47 days.
Fishermen will wave black flags while adhering to physical distancing norms. All fishing activities had been shut down in the wake of the lockdown imposed on March 24 to contain the spread of coronavirus. However, the ban was lifted and fishing was allowed from April 10.
To compensate the loss, the Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries postponed the annual monsoon fishing ban to June 15 from the earlier June 1 in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
“Reducing the period, defeats the sole purpose of the fishing ban aimed at conserving fish species during monsoon which is the spawning season for many varieties of fish. The agitation will also cover our protest against Seismic oil survey blasts on the seabed which has been damaging the marine life and depleting the fish-stock, against LED fishing,” said Bernard D’mello of the Akhil Maharashtra Machhimar Kriti Samithi led by Damodar Tandel.
However, the state government has retained the 61-day ban period. The quaint fishing villages including Uttan, Pali, Dongri, Bhatte Bunder and Chowk is home to more than 750 fishing boats in the region. Considered as a mandated strategy for conservation and management of fisheries resources, the 61-day ban from June 1 to July 31 is in existence since 2012. Earlier the term of the ban lasted 75 days from June 1 to August 15.
