The Maharashtra state fisheries department has reached out to the Coast Guard to address the issue of illegal light fishing, a practice where submersible light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are used to attract fish during the night. This illicit method involves lowering specialized LED devices into the water to attract phytoplankton, creating an underwater feeding frenzy that larger marine life falls victim to.
Despite being banned by the Centre in 2017, the use of LED lights persists just beyond the 12 nautical mile limit, falling under the jurisdiction gap between the state marine police and the Indian exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Commissioner of Fisheries (Maharashtra), Atul Patne, penned a letter to the Coast Guard, emphasizing the jurisdictional limitations faced by the state fisheries department and urging the Coast Guard to take action against illegal LED-light fishing vessels operating beyond the 12 nautical mile limit, up to 200 nautical miles. The letter highlighted the potential heavy losses to marine fish stocks, environmental harm, and threats to the livelihoods of traditional fishermen.
Bernard D’mello, working president of Akhil Maharashtra Machhimar Kruti Samiti (AKMMS), stressed the indiscriminate and overfishing consequences of LED fishing, calling for coordinated efforts between the Coast Guard and the fisheries department to penalize violators.
The use of LED devices explicitly designed for fishing is readily available online, with prices ranging from ₹8,000 for a 100-watt device to ₹80,000 for a 25,000-watt light. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) categorizes their use as a form of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The practice captures both juvenile and mature fish, posing a threat to fish stocks.
A senior scientist from the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) in Mumbai highlighted the urgent need to regulate this practice, emphasizing its adverse impact on fish stocks. A 2017 paper revealed the proliferation of high-power LED lights in purse-seine net operations along the Maharashtra coast, attracting various pelagic fish species.
This move by the Maharashtra fisheries department underscores the gravity of the situation, urging collaborative efforts to curb the detrimental effects of illegal LED fishing on the region’s marine ecosystem and the livelihoods of traditional fishermen.
