NAGAPATTINAM: As many as 119 fishing vessels in the delta region have not been registered. This was discovered during the annual fishing boat inspection undertaken in the region during May 25-26.
Of the 1,580 vessels that were inspected by the fisheries department, 119, including 76 purse seine boats, were found lacking a permit. Among them, Mayiladuthurai district reported 78 unregistered vessels, of which 69 were purse seiners.
The other illegal vessels were nine trawlers. "The purse seiners will not be allowed to go to sea," said an official from the fisheries department in Mayiladuthurai. In Nagapattinam district, 41 vessels lacked licence, including nine purse seiners from Nambiar Nagar. The other illegal vessels were trawlers.
"There were many trawlers which were recently bought. The boat owners assured that they would register them. We have instructed them to get it done as soon as possible," said an official in Nagapattinam. A total of 151 and 425 trawler boats were inspected in Thanjavur and Pudukkottai districts respectively. All were found to be registered.