NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday clarified that Tamil Nadu fishermen will be permitted to carry out purse seine fishing beyond the state's territorial waters, provided it is undertaken entirely within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and with all mandatory approvals.
"We will not allow violation of norms of the state or the Centre but, at the same time, the state should not stop them from going beyond its territorial jurisdiction of 12 nautical miles into the Centre's jurisdiction for purse seine fishing," a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe said.
The court made the observation while hearing a petition filed by NGO Fisherman Care, which alleged that the Tamil Nadu government was preventing fishermen from carrying out purse seine fishing both within the state's territorial waters and beyond, in the Centre's jurisdiction.
Reiterating its position, the apex court said, "We will not allow violation of norms of the state or the Centre but, at the same time, the state should not stop them from going beyond its territorial jurisdiction of 12 nautical miles into the Centre's jurisdiction for purse seine fishing."
The court also warned that its directions must be strictly followed. Any violation or unlawful fishing activity within the state's territorial waters could lead to arrest.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) K M Nataraj, appearing for the Centre, submitted that the recommendations of an expert committee had been implemented through the relevant rules. He told the court that waters up to 12 nautical miles fall under the state's jurisdiction, while the EEZ beyond that is governed by the Centre, which issues fishing permits.
Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde, appearing for the Tamil Nadu government, argued that several boats misuse the permission granted for fishing in the EEZ and instead fish within the state's territorial waters.
The bench, while hearing the petition filed by Fisherman Care, also sought detailed information from the Centre on how other coastal states regulate purse seine fishing.
The top court recalled its interim order of January 24, 2023, in which it had conditionally allowed purse seine fishing beyond state territorial waters. It had noted that several coastal states—Gujarat, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka, Goa and West Bengal—do not impose any ban on the practice, whereas Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra do. The Centre, meanwhile, imposes no such restrictions in the EEZ.
The conditions laid down in the 2023 order include registration under the MPEDA Act, 1972, and the Tamil Nadu rules, installation of an approved vessel tracking system, fishing only on Mondays and Thursdays, possession of biometric identity cards, sharing vessel tracking codes with authorities, and following a prescribed colour code for boats.
Tamil Nadu banned the use of purse seine nets in 2000, describing the method as harmful and non-selective. The Madras High Court upheld the ban in 2019 by dismissing a challenge to it.
The Supreme Court reserved its final decision and sought further inputs from the Centre. It directed the ASG to submit details of how purse seine fishing is regulated in other coastal states and the mechanisms followed in those jurisdictions.