Mangaluru : The Department of Fisheries on Thursday banned fishing by mechanised boats from June 1 to July 31 across the Karnataka coast. The ban has been imposed to facilitate the breeding of fish during the monsoon.

According to a press release, all kinds of trawlers and conventional boats retrofitted with engines with more than 10 HP capacity are prohibited from venturing into the sea and carry on fishing activities. Similarly, use of nets and other similar equipment to catch fish has been banned.

The ban has been enforced as per the Karnataka Marine Fishing (Regulation) Act.

Besides this, the Union Ministry for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries has also banned fishing by mechanised boats in all coastal States of the country from 12 to 200 nautical miles in the sea. It had thus, implemented a uniform ban for all coastal States.

Fishermen and fishing boats violating the ban would be penalised as per the provisions of the Act. Besides this, they would also become ineligible for getting subsidised diesel for one year. All fishermen had been urged to follow this directive and cooperate with the government.