Illegal fishing on in Sukhna

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 10

Illegal fishing in Sukhna is posing a threat to fish in the lake. In the absence of a proper check, the illegal activity is going on unabated in the garb of angling in the lake.

Though officials of the Department of Fisheries claim that no fishing is allowed in the lake and licences are issued only for angling, the situation on the ground is different.

When this correspondent visited the lake today, some persons were fishing without a licence. They failed to show the licence when asked for it. It seems the Department of Fisheries is not serious about checking the illegal practice. A board carrying instructions for anglers has been displayed. Some of the instructions seem “weird”.

According to the instructions, a licensee shall  not catch  fish of a size smaller than 20 cm. They will not be allowed to catch more than two fish (maximum  weight  of 3.5  kg). According to the rules, the anglers have to leave the fish back in the lake if  it is smaller than 20   cm.

The notice states that the time for angling  is  from 10 am to 4 pm and those violating  the rules are liable  for punishment.

Sumit Kumar, a regular visitor  to the  lake, says he hardly  finds any official keeping tabs on anglers. He says the  instructions  displayed on the  notice board mean little in the absence of CCTV cameras or a proper check  as no one  knows  how  many  fish the anglers  take  away from the lake daily.

The instruction regarding the weight limit of 3.5  kg of two fish is also not  practical. There is no provision to weigh  the  fish.

Dr Kanwarjit Singh, Joint Director  of the  Department of Fisheries, says angling has been  allowed  with a view to developing it as a sport, besides maintaining the ecological balance of the lake. Strict  conditions have been laid for it, he says, adding that he will look  into the  issue of illegal fishing in the lake.