Maharashtra to seize Karnataka boats

Maharashtra government on Wednesday announced that it will seize the high-speed boats from Karnataka fishing into the state’s waters in Ratnagiri district.

The Maharashtra government has completed legal process in 25 such instances, fisheries minister Madhukar Chavan told the assembly while replying to a debate on the calling attention notice.
The government has also submitted a proposal for procuring high-tech and high-speed boats to intercept the fishing trawlers from neighbouring states, he said

NCP MLA Uday Samant said more than 200 trawlers from the neighbouring state fish in the waters in Ratnagiri district.

“The boats can achieve a speed of 30 nautical miles per hour. The customs as well as fisheries officials have failed to seize the boats and take action against them,” he said. Samant further said that the fishing boats from Karnataka use Persian fishing nets by which large quantity of fish can be caught.

In his reply, Chavan said a proposal to ban Persian fishing nets in 12 nautical miles jurisdiction of state’s waters has been pending with law and judiciary department.