The Supreme Court has stayed the ban imposed by the Tamil Nadu government on the use of purse seine nets for fishing beyond the territorial waters of Tamil Nadu but within the Exclusive Economic Zone, albeit with certain conditions.
The restricted interim order was passed by the Bench of Justice A.S. Bopanna and Justice Hima Kohli on Monday on a batch of petitions seeking interim stay on the ban imposed by the State of Tamil Nadu on February 17, 2022 over the use of purse seine nets for fishing.
The Apex Court set certain conditions on the fishermen. It said permission would only be given to those fishing vessels, which were registered under Section 11 of the Act.
Further, the Fisheries department would give permission to only those boats, which were installed with approved vessel tracking system. Vessels would be allowed to operate only twice a week, on Monday and Thursday of each week, it added.
As per the Apex Court, vessels given this permission would leave the coastline on or after 8 am and return positively by 6 pm on the same day.
It was mandatory for the fishermen to carry ID cards, noted the top court of the country.
The Bench observed that it was passing the interim restricted orders on the philosophy of ‘Jiyo and Jeene do’ (Live and Let Live).
While noting that all contingencies could not be taken into consideration, the Apex Court observed that the interim order was passed to ensure that everybody survived this policy.