The Department of Fisheries has requested the government to amend the Karnataka Marine Fisheries (Regulation) Act, 1986 to regulate marine fisheries with enhanced powers to the department, according to Ramacharya, Director, Fisheries, Karnataka.
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Speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a workshop on ‘Caged fish farming’ here on Saturday he said that the amendment proposed is also aimed at curbing illegal marine fishing effectively.
For example, under the existing law, fine only up to ₹5,000 can be imposed for illegal fishing. It was a heavy amount when the existing Act, rules for which were framed in 1987, came into force. The amount is meagre now. Hence the department has proposed to impose a fine of up to ₹2.50 lakh.
Under the existing Act, illegal fishing is a non-cognisable offence. It has been proposed to make it as a cognisable offence by amending the Act and also give powers to the coastal security police to book cases.
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He said that the draft of the proposed amendment might also be posted on the public domain for discussion.
The Director said that Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have their own dedicated enforcement wings to curb illegal marine fishing. Kerala had amended its Marine Fisheries (Regulation) Act in 2018, making it comprehensive.