With the annual fishing ban for the east coast announced for a duration of 61 days from April 15 to June 14, the Fisheries Department has directed all mechanised boats on this side to return to the shore.
Sources in the department said that in Kasimedu, there were 914 mechanised boats that fish using trawl and gill nets and they have been asked to return by 11.50 p.m. on April 13 or otherwise be charge-sheeted for returning late. “If they come in late, a fine will be imposed or their diesel subsidy be cut,” an official explained. Mechanised boats that are supposed to be of length between 12 metres and 24 metres, get a diesel subsidy for 1,800 litres a month.
