New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain an application from the State Government seeking a directive to lift the ban imposed by the court on fishing by mechanised boats and trawlers.

A three-Judge Bench comprising Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, Justice C.K. Thakker and Justice P.K. Balasubramanyan declined the request of Rajeev Dhavan, senior counsel appearing for the State, to take up for early hearing an application for lifting the ban imposed by the court by its order dated July 17. The Bench said it was not possible to lift the ban for this year and the application would come up for hearing in the normal course.

On a petition from Goa Environment Federation, the apex court on July 17 passed an order stating that there would be a ban for mechanised boats and trawlers for fishing in the coastal waters of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala up to August 15 during the current southwest monsoon period.

In its application seeking to lift the ban, the State said that southwest monsoon played a crucial role in the recoupment and regeneration of fishery wealth in all the States of the West coast. The highest rate of primary productivity is recorded during the monsoon months along the West coast.

It said that in Kerala the monsoon would normally hit in the last week of May and would reach Gujarat by June 15.

Considering the very strong influence of monsoon on the regeneration of fishery wealth it would be more scientifically sound to decide the duration of the ban period on the basis of the onset and duration of the monsoon in respective of that particular State.

It said that the extensive backwaters of Kerala provided the most ideal nursery ground for the shrimps for completion of their lifecycle and faster recruitment to the fishery. "There is a spectacular increase in the landing of pelagic {lcub}fish{rcub} resources from 2.5 lakh to four lakh tonnes in Kerala commensurate with tremendous increase in fishing pressures and innovative fishing craft-gear combinations", the application said.

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