Will approach ICG to crack down on LED fishing: Goa Minister

Panaji, May 18 Unavailability of a suitable patrol boat to track down on fishermen using LED lights to carry out fishing in the deep seas off Goa, may force the state Fisheries Ministry to approach the state coastal police or the Indian Coast Guard to carry out raids, Fisheries Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar said on Wednesday.

"LED fishing normally occurs 12 nautical miles away. We have only one boat to conduct raids, but the boat cannot reach that far. So are proposing to buy two more boats," he told reporters here.

"We are also considering contacting the coastal police or coast Guard to give them the right to carry out raids. We are also trying to ban LED fishing. There are a lot of complaints about it," Halarnkar also said.

Fisherfolk in Goa have been demanding a ban on fishing with the help of LED lights, which attracts entire swarms of fish with the help of its powerful glow underwater.

Marine scientists have also suggested that the practice abets indiscriminate fishing, which would eventually lead to a fish famine in the waters off Goa.