The Supreme Court gave permission on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 purse seine fishing Outside the territorial waters of Tamil Nadu.
Justice AS Bopanna, who headed the bench, orally said after pronouncing the order in the court, “We have allowed this because we thought everyone should live.”
The court has imposed stringent conditions to regulate purse seine fishing outside the 12-nautical-mile limit from Tamil Nadu.
For one, purse seine fishing will be allowed only twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, that too between 8 am and 6 pm on the same day.
One of the lawyers objected that the time may vary due to the state of the sea and the weather. Boats may return late and docking times will cross the 8 pm mark.
“First of all, we are allowing you to do so on the basic principle of ‘live and let live’…come back expeditiously,” the court said.
The bench said that only vessels registered under the Marine Fishing Regulation Act would be allowed to carry out purse seine fishing.
Tracking devices should be installed in these boats. The court has also prescribed color code for them. The fishing crew must compulsorily carry the identity card.
Tamil Nadu’s objection
Tamil Nadu had strongly objected to purse seine fishing even beyond the limit of 12 nautical miles.
“The mouth of the purse seine net is a hectare and it will pull anything and everything out of the bowels of the sea. I cannot go by the Centre’s suggestion to monitor or manage purse seine fishing. Territorial waters would be put at risk The State, represented by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi and advocate D Kumman, argued.
The state had cited a 1993 Supreme Court judgment in State of Kerala vs Joseph Antony, which had upheld the ban on purse seine fishing beyond territorial waters as it affected the livelihood of traditional fishermen.
One of the primary ecological arguments against purse seine nets is that they attract not only target fish but also at-risk species including turtles. It is restricted by Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Odisha, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Andaman and Nicobar Islands up to 12 nautical miles in their respective territorial waters.
States like Gujarat, Andhra, Goa, Karnataka, West Bengal have not imposed any such restriction on purse seine fishing. Maharashtra has issued certain orders for regulation of purse seine fishing in its territorial waters.
The fisheries department of the central government had recommended lifting the ban on purse seine fishing in a report submitted by an expert committee on November 15. The expert panel refused to accept that purse seine fishing caused “serious resource depletion”. It had recommended purse-seiners for fishing in territorial waters and Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) subject to certain conditions.
The central government had sought six months’ time to prepare a uniform national plan for purse seine fishing.
‘No Prohibition’
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the purse seine fishermen, had argued that for the last 30 years there was no restriction on the purse seine fishermen to operate beyond their territorial waters.
Mr Sankaranarayanan had said that the fishing season would end by the last week of February, and some relief from the court was urgently needed.
He had said that 17 lakh fishermen use purse seine nets. They were not “affluent”, but were small fishermen who worked as pickpockets in the fishing community. Shri Sankaranarayanan said that purse seine fishing was started in 1954. The technology has changed for the better and can be used to monitor fishermen and check if they operate beyond the limit of 12 nautical miles.
“The fishing season for South Tamil Nadu started two weeks ago and will continue for the next four weeks. The season for North Tamil Nadu will start in two weeks. The timing is crucial,” Mr Sankaranarayanan had said.
He had said that the state has no jurisdiction outside the maritime limit of its territorial waters and they cannot be restricted from fishing there.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Fishermen’s Care seeking a stay on the Tamil Nadu government’s order dated February 17, 2020, which banned large nets used to catch schools of fish in deep sea waters went.