Don't let foreign fishing vessels swamp Indian EEZ, PM urged

Cheni, May 3: Tamil du Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Sunday urged Prime Minister rendra Modi to take a series of steps so that the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is not swamped by foreign fishing vessels. In a letter to Modi, the text of which was released to the media here, he said the recent decisions of the union agriculture ministry “could in effect lead to swamping by foreign fishing vessels in India’s EEZ and also increase the regulatory burden on domestic fishing fleets”. “The new guidelines issued by the government of India will adversely affect the local fishermen in Tamil du because, out of the 5,500 mechanised fishing boats in Tamil du, more than 80 percent of the boats are above 15 metres in OAL (overall length) and are engaged in near-shore fishing just beyond the territorial waters of India,” Panneerselvam said.
“Obtaining LOPs (Letters of Permission) from the government of India and voyage clearances from the Indian Coast Guard for each fishing voyage is extremely impractical,” he said. (IANS)