Fishing Regulation in Maharashtra
Chapter Forty-Four
Syllabus topic 1, "Water"
Pages 183 to 186 of 885
In one line
A fish stock is a renewable resource that can be destroyed in a season, and the law about it is short, old, and mostly about explosives, poison and closed seasons.
In the wording a student can write in an exam: fishing in Maharashtra is regulated by the Maharashtra Fisheries Act, 1960, for inland and coastal waters and by the Maharashtra Maritime Fishing Regulation Act, 1981, for the territorial sea within the State's jurisdiction; the 1960 Act by section 3 makes it an offence to destroy fish by explosion or poisoning, by section 4 empowers the State Government to protect fish in selected waters by rules, by section 5 to prohibit the sale or barter of fish unlawfully taken, and by sections 6 to 9 provides penalties, arrest without warrant, jurisdiction and compounding.
Why fishing is a resource-management subject
Because a fishery is the textbook common pool resource, and the standard failure is exactly the one module III describes.
No one can be excluded from the sea cheaply. What one boat takes is not there for the next. So each boat's incentive is to take more, and if all follow it the breeding stock collapses and everybody loses. The regulatory answers are the same four everywhere: limit who may fish, limit when, limit where, and limit how.
And in India the conflict is between two fleets. The traditional non-mechanised fleet fishes near the shore with passive gear; the mechanised trawler fleet fishes further out and, when it comes inshore, destroys both the stock and the traditional gear. Almost every provision of a State marine fishing Act is about keeping the second out of the first's water.
The Maharashtra Fisheries Act, 1960
Section 1 gives the short title, extent and commencement. Section 2 defines "fish", which includes shellfish, and "fixed engine" and the other terms the Act uses.
Section 3, destruction of fish by explosion or poisoning. No person shall use any explosive substance in any water with intent to catch or destroy fish, and no person shall put any poison, lime or noxious material into any water with intent to catch or destroy fish. This is the oldest fisheries provision there is, and the reason is that both methods kill the whole community in the water, adults, juveniles and everything else, so a single act can destroy a stretch of river for years.
Section 4, protection of fish in selected waters. The State Government may, by notification, apply the section to any specified water, and thereafter make rules prohibiting or regulating the erection and use of fixed engines, the construction of weirs, and the dimensions and kinds of nets to be used and the manner of their use; and prohibiting the destruction of, or attempt to destroy, fish by any means during a specified season. Those four are the classic instruments: gear, obstruction, mesh and closed season.
Fishing Regulation in Maharashtra
Section 5, sale of fish unlawfully taken. The State Government may prohibit the sale or barter of fish taken in contravention of the Act or the rules. This is the sanction that actually works, because it attacks the market rather than the boat.
Section 6, penalties, for a contravention of section 3 or of a rule under section 4.
Section 7, arrest without warrant, for an offence under the Act.
Section 8 extends jurisdiction to a court inferior to that of a Magistrate of the Second Class, and section 9 empowers the compounding of offences.
Section 10 deems officers to be public servants, section 11 is an indemnity, and section 12 makes dues recoverable as arrears of land revenue.
Section 13 is a saving, and section 14 repeals the earlier law with savings.
The Maharashtra Maritime Fishing Regulation Act, 1981
The 1960 Act is a short conservation Act. The marine fishery is regulated by the 1981 Act, and a student should be able to state its scheme in outline.
It applies to the sea within the State's jurisdiction, being the territorial waters adjacent to the State.
It requires a licence for fishing by a mechanised vessel.
It reserves a zone near the shore for traditional craft, by prohibiting or regulating mechanised fishing within a stated distance from the shore, which is the central provision and the one that produces the conflict.
It provides for closed seasons, and the monsoon closure on the west coast is the most important single conservation measure in Indian marine fisheries.
And it provides for authorised officers, seizure of a vessel and its catch, penalties and confiscation.
Broken down: the four instruments
Who may fish. Registration and licensing of vessels; reservation of a zone for traditional craft.
When. A closed season under section 4 of the 1960 Act for inland waters, and the monsoon closure at sea, timed to the spawning period.
Where. Zoning by distance from the shore; protection of a spawning ground or a nursery by notifying the water under section 4.
How. Mesh size, prohibited gear, and the outright bans on explosives and poison in section 3. Mesh size is the most important of the four, because a small mesh takes juveniles that have not yet bred, and a fishery that takes juveniles collapses however few boats there are.
Worked example
A creek in Raigad district is a nursery for prawn. Trawlers enter it at night; villagers report dynamite in the upper reach.
Step one, the dynamite. Section 3 of the 1960 Act, an offence at once, and section 7 allows arrest without warrant.
Fishing Regulation in Maharashtra
Step two, the creek. The State may apply section 4 to that water by notification and then make rules prohibiting fixed engines, controlling mesh size and declaring a closed season.
Step three, the trawlers. If the creek is within the area of the 1981 Act, mechanised fishing within the reserved zone is prohibited or licensed, and the vessel and catch may be seized.
Step four, the market. Section 5 lets the State prohibit the sale or barter of fish unlawfully taken, which is what stops the practice.
Step five, the wider law. If the creek is a notified wetland the 2017 Rules prohibit poaching in terms; if it is within a sanctuary the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, applies; and if it lies in the coastal regulation zone the notification under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, applies.
Step six, the honest limit. None of this reaches the real cause, which is too many boats chasing a stock that is already fully exploited. Effort control, meaning a limit on the number and power of vessels, is what a fishery actually needs, and no Indian State Act does it well.
Distinctions
| Maharashtra Fisheries Act, 1960 | Maharashtra Maritime Fishing Regulation Act, 1981 | |
|---|---|---|
| Waters | Inland and coastal waters generally | The sea within the State's jurisdiction |
| Main technique | Prohibition of destructive methods; rules for selected waters | Licensing of mechanised vessels and zoning |
| Core conflict addressed | Destructive fishing | Mechanised against traditional fleet |
| Closed season | Under a rule made on notifying a water, section 4 | The monsoon closure |
| Sanctions | Penalty, arrest without warrant, compounding | Penalty, seizure and confiscation of the vessel and catch |
What it does NOT mean
It does not mean the State regulates all Indian fishing. Beyond the territorial waters, in the exclusive economic zone, the subject is with the Union under Entry 57 of List I, and the central legislation governs.
It does not mean aquaculture is fishing. Culture in saline or brackish water in a coastal area, whether in ponds, cisterns, pens, cages or rafts, is regulated by the Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act, 2005, as amended in 2023, and fresh water culture by State fisheries law; capture from the wild is what these Acts are about.
And it does not mean a closed season is a hardship measure that can be shortened at will. It is timed to the spawning period, and shortening it defeats the whole purpose.
Quick revision
Maharashtra Fisheries Act, 1960: section 3, no explosives, poison, lime or noxious material; section 4, notify a water and then make rules on fixed engines, weirs, nets and their dimensions, and a closed season; section 5, prohibit the sale or barter of fish unlawfully taken; sections 6 to 9, penalties, arrest without warrant, jurisdiction and compounding; sections 10 to 14, public servants, indemnity, recovery as arrears of land revenue, saving and repeal.
Fishing Regulation in Maharashtra
Maharashtra Maritime Fishing Regulation Act, 1981: licensing of mechanised vessels, a zone reserved for traditional craft, closed seasons including the monsoon closure, and seizure and confiscation.
Four instruments: who, when, where and how. Mesh size is the most important, because taking juveniles collapses a stock.
Beyond territorial waters: Entry 57 of List I, and central law.
Test yourself
1. What does section 3 of the 1960 Act prohibit, and why is that the oldest fisheries rule there is? Using an explosive substance in any water, or putting poison, lime or noxious material into it, with intent to catch or destroy fish. Both methods kill the entire community in the water, including juveniles, so one act can destroy a stretch for years.
2. What may the State Government regulate once it applies section 4 to a water? The erection and use of fixed engines, the construction of weirs, the dimensions and kinds of nets and the manner of their use, and the destruction of fish by any means during a specified season.
3. Why is section 5 an effective sanction? Because it allows the sale or barter of unlawfully taken fish to be prohibited, which attacks the market for the catch rather than trying to catch the boat.
4. What is the central conflict the 1981 Act addresses? The conflict between the mechanised trawler fleet and the traditional non-mechanised fleet, which it addresses by licensing mechanised vessels and reserving a zone near the shore for traditional craft.
The rest of this subject
These notes are cut from the University's printed syllabus. Open the syllabus itself, or the past papers, for the same subject.