The Hindu : Kerala News : Fishermen to resist move to defy trawling ban

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Fishermen to resist move to defy trawling ban

By Our Staff Reporter

ALAPPUZHA, JUNE 9 . The Kerala Swatanthra Matsya Thozhilali Federation leader, Lal Koipparambil, has protested against the "failure of the State Government to ban trawling even after the onset of the South West monsoon".

The State Government had been imposing the annual trawling ban before June 1 every year. However, it had not yet taken any step to impose the ban in the current year, he said.

The KSMTF leader said the statement of the boat owners' association that it would defy the trawling ban in Kollam district was a challenge to traditional fishermen. The traditional fishermen would defeat any such move, he warned. Though the trawling ban was being implemented in the State from 1988, nobody had come forward to defy it, he noted.

He said the State Government had failed to restructure the fisheries sector though the new fisheries policy announced by the Government had guidelines in this connection.

Mr. Lal urged the State Government to pressure the UPA Government at the Centre to cancel the licence given to foreign trawlers to conduct fishing in the seas of the country. The ban on trawling should be implemented for 90 days every year from June 1, he said.

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