The executive order issued by Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries under Ministry of Agriculture, spelling out new deep-sea fishing guidelines has triggered panic among trawler owners that it may lead to re-entry of controversial Letter of Permit (LoP) vessels.
The order and the subsequent public notice issued by Joint Secretary Raja Sekhar Vundru on the basis of the recommendation of technical committee on deep-sea fishing led by ICAR Deputy Director General B. Meenakumari have caused severe resentment among trawler and mechanised boat operators.
Dr. Meenakumari had submitted her report in August, 2014 following which the Department of Fisheries issued the executive order on November 12 and public notice on November 28. “Revival of LoP system to allow foreign vessels in some form with benami Indian ownership was a conspiracy to loot export-centric Sashimi grade tuna from Indian waters,” Federation of Indian Fishery Industries president Y.G.K. Murty told The Hindu on Saturday. The operation of LoP vessels, most of them from Taiwan numbering 110, was stopped in 2010 following a court order.
The foreign vessels are called ‘floating ships and factories in sea’ because of their advanced feature. Their overall length is 50 to 55 metres as against Indian deep-sea fishing’s length of 15 metres. They have horse power of 500 to 1,000 and five to six times more fishing effort and endurance.
The vessels can carry 5,000 hooks compared to 500 to 1,000 by Indian vessels. Domestic vessels can carry 20 tonnes of ice restricting their floating capacity to 10 to 15 days whereas the foreign trawlers have compressors and motors to produce ice at minus 60 to 70 degree centigrade. On-board process and freezing can keep the foreign ships float for months together. Industry sources said Taiwan vessels, without cancelling their original registration, get fake documents on surrender of registration in Tuwali and Sierra Leone and subsequently bought by some Indian businessmen. “Their modus operandi is to smuggle tuna mid-sea by engaging mother vessels,” AP Mechanised Boat Operators’ Association president P.C. Appa Rao said.