What is purse seine fishing?

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Key updates-

• It is prohibited by several States and Union Territories, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Odisha, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Andaman and Nicobar Islands in their respective territorial waters of up to 12 nautical miles.
• States like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, West Bengal have not imposed any such ban on purse seine fishing. Maharashtra has issued certain orders for regulation of purse seine fishing in its territorial waters
• The Fisheries Department of the Union government has recommended the lifting of the ban on purse seine fishing on a report submitted by an expert committee in November 2022.
• The expert panel has recommended purse seiners to fish in territorial waters and the Indian Exclusive Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) subject to certain conditions.
• The committee has also suggested the framing of a “national management plan on purse seine fisheries.

What is purse seine fishing?

• Seine fishing is a method of fishing that employs a surrounding net, called a seine, that hangs vertically in the water with its bottom edge held down by weights and its top edge buoyed by floats. 
• Seine nets can be deployed from the shore as a beach seine, or from a boat. 
• It used in the open ocean to target dense schools of single-species pelagic (midwater) fish like tuna and mackerel.
• A vertical net ‘curtain’ is used to surround the school of fish, the bottom of which is then drawn together to enclose the fish, rather like tightening the cords of a drawstring purse. 
• Purse-seine fishing in open water is generally considered to be an efficient form of fishing. It has no contact with the seabed and can have low levels of bycatch (accidental catch of unwanted species).
• Purse seines can also be used to catch fish congregating around fish aggregating devices. This fishing method can result in higher levels of bycatch.

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