Anna Theresia, a fishing boat owned by Munambam resident Soolapani, has been seized by the authorities as part of strict measures to stop juvenile fishing.
The boat was seized following a joint inspection conducted by the Marine Enforcement and Fisheries departments on Saturday night.
The catch was auctioned off for ₹1,02,000 and the amount was credited to the Government account.
The boat was fined ₹2.5 lakh for engaging in illegal fishing.
Illegal practices
“Fishers should stay off illegal practices that cause depletion of marine wealth. Stringent action will be taken against those who catch fish below the minimum legal size,” said Fisheries Deputy Director P. Geethakumari.
The inspection was led by Inspector S.S. Biju and Sub-Inspector Sumesh.
Very often a lot of juvenile fish get trapped inside nets having wrong mesh size and according to experts, this reckless exploitation has resulted in a marked dip in the fish stock. Since many craft still use fishing gear that are not in accordance with the rules and recommendations of the KMFR Act, they end up with a considerable amount of juveniles. Despite strict rules against the practice, huge quantities of juvenile fish are often brought to the harbour, allegedly for meeting the demand of fish meal factories.
According to fishers, middlemen transport the juvenile catch to factories operating outside Kerala.
