KENDRAPARA: In a bid to conserve fish stock at sea during the breeding period, the Fisheries department imposed restrictions on mechanised fishing vessels for two months starting Friday. The ban will be in force from April 15 to June 14.
Official sources said the department registered 21,832 fishing vessels including 1,741 trawlers in the State. During the fishing ban, all mechanized fishing vessels of the State including 630 trawlers of Paradip fishing harbour will not be allowed to venture into sea.
The ban extends to 12 nautical miles off the territorial water of Odisha coast, and applies to all kinds of trawlers and mechanised boats beyond 8.5 meter long. The small mechanized and non- mechanized boats less than 8.5 meter long which use nets with big gaps, are exempted from the restrictions.
Deputy Director of Fisheries department, Basant Das said,”To avoid disturbances caused by trawl fishing during the breeding season, fishermen are instructed not to venture into the sea during the ban period under section-4 of Odisha Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1982.”
Monsoon is the breeding season of nearly 300 species of fish including the delectable Hilsa along the Odisha coast. The trawling ban was introduced in 1998 to help unhindered breeding of fish during the rainy season in the sea. Traditional fishermen however have been exempted from the ban and are permitted to carry out fishing only in the territorial waters.