Deep sea Trawl Boat Association demands Ban on LED light fishing in Malpe
Udupi: Fishermen’s Deep sea Trawl Boat Association Malpe fear that the fishing industry will face a shutdown and go the mining way if fishing boats are allowed to use Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights for fishing in deep waters.
Speaking at a press meet held at the Press club Udupi Kishore Das Suvarna expressed fear that the fishing industry will be doomed and die out completely within two years if the purse seine fishing boats are allowed to use the LED lights and venture into deep waters for fishing. The way illegal mining affected all, this method of fishing will prove to be dangerous as the fish breed will reduce and over a period of time we will be left with no fish.
There is strict rule by the union government that does not allow the use of LED lights and venturing into deep waters for fishing. Goa, Maharastra and Gujarat states are strictly following the norms of the Union government but in the Karnataka state, our own community minister Pramod Madhwaraj is indirectly supporting the purse seine fishing boat owners.
Demanding a ban on LED-backed fishing, Suvarna said that the government and district administration should intervene and demand a ban on such methods of fishing across the state. All kinds of fishermen will be affected including traditional ramponkars, makkar, arikar as well as trawlers (large and small).
Coastal Karnataka has around 4500 trawlers of which around 700 are purse seine fishing boats. Of these purse seine boats, currently, about 400 boats in Malpe have installed LED lights for fishing. The fishing industry will face a shutdown if fishing boats are not prevented from using LED for fishing in deep waters, he added.
Raviraj Suvarna, Vittal Karkera, Bhuvanesh Kotian, Karunakar and others were present.