The first Fisheries Ministers’ Conference representing south Indian states has unanimously decided to implement the Minimum Legal Size (MLS) measure recommended by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) to curb juvenile fishing.
Ministers also decided to urge the Union government to reduce the fuel price and to waive road tax for fishing and arrived at a consensus to provide fishing rights beyond the territorial waters of 12 nautical miles.
“Kerala has already implemented the MLS for 58 fish species to ban juvenile fishing. Now other states have also come forward to implement the measure in their territorial waters to make the regulation more effective”, said J Mercykutty Amma, Kerala Fisheries Minister.
More vessels
She further said that the conference took the decision to pressure the government to increase the unit cost of deep-sea fishing vessels from the existing Rs 80 lakhs to Rs 1.5 crore, plus forge ahead with technical and financial support for equipping fishermen for deep sea fishing through cooperative societies.
Further, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, sought the Centre’s intervention to develop a holistic plan for the utilisation of exclusive economic zone (EEZ) resources, taking into the consideration of the requirements of coastal states and Union Territories.
In a bid to resolve the issue of over-exploitation and inter-state conflicts, Mr Vijayan suggested that the Union government and the states and the Union Territories act together to agree upon the management policies and measures for a sustainable utilisation of living resources in the EEZ.
He stressed the need for a collective thinking and formulation of common strategies among the states and Union Territories for the effective and sustainable growth of fisheries sector in every region.
The meet was jointly organised by the Fisheries Department, CMFRI, CIFT and KUFOS.
