Ban on catching fish at Bay of Bengal by Marine Fishery Dept

08 April, Kendrapada (Odisha)

The Marine Fishery Department will impose a ban on fishing activities along the eastern coast of Bay of Bengal in Odisha including Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur from April 14 to June 15 to facilitate fish breeding.

According to Assistant Director fishery(Marine) Department, Biraja Prasanna Mohapatra, the ban is imposed every year during this period.

He said the marine fishery department has appealed the fishermen not to venture into sea with mechanized vessels and trawlers as it would not only affect the breeder fish but also affect breeding process.

This ban coincides with the spawning season for fish, during which they release their eggs. As trawlers use fishing nets with small gaps, eggs and young ones would be caught in the nets leading to depletion in fish production, Mohapatra said.

After the ban imposed under Orissa Marine Fishing Regulation Act as many as round 632 trawlers, including 558 registered mechanised trawler of Jagatsinghpur, would remain anchor in the jetties of two coastal districts, official sources said.

However, the Catamarans and manual fishing boats have been exempted from the ban. The nets used by the fishermen in catamarans are different from those used by the trawlers.

The marine fishery department has also asked the authorities of Industries, which are set up near the Port town paradip, not to discharge effluents into the water bodies that are connected with the sea, as it would affect adverse impact on fish breeding and spawning, the official sources said.