Maldives fines three Tamil Nadu boats ₹4.79 crore for alleged illegal fishing

The Maldivian government has imposed a total fine of ₹4.79 crore on three mechanised fishing boats from Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu after they were detained for allegedly entering the Maldives’ maritime zone without permission and fishing with prohibited gear.

The boats left the Tharuvaikulam Fish Landing Centre on October 2 for multi-day deep-sea fishing with 25 crew. The Maldivian Coast Guard detained them on October 12. The vessels and crew were escorted to K. Dhoonidhoo port and handed over to the Maldives police.

The Maldivian Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture and Ocean Resources said the boats were fishing within the country’s maritime zone when they were detained. Under the Maldives Fisheries Act, foreign fishing vessels must obtain prior permission to enter the maritime zone. Section 26(a) states that unless the contrary is proven, a foreign fishing vessel entering the zone without a permit is deemed to have entered for fishing or related activities. Section 73 prohibits fishing without a licence.

During the hearing, the owners and masters said they were not aware that a permit was required. The masters said the boats’ navigational equipment was working throughout the journey and that they entered the Maldives’ Exclusive Economic Zone unintentionally because of bad weather. They said the catch on board was taken inside India’s EEZ.

The Maldivian authorities, however, said the vessels had no permission. They said neither the master nor the crew had maintained a logbook, and no fishing positions were saved on the GPS. Officials also said the boats carried gill nets, which are prohibited in the Maldives, and that the nets were deployed in the sea when Coast Guard officials boarded the vessels.

Each vessel was fined 2.6 million Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR). This includes 100,000 MVR for entering the territorial waters without permission, 500,000 MVR for fishing without a licence and 2 million MVR for engaging in a prohibited form of fishing. The fine works out to about ₹1.59 crore per boat and ₹4.79 crore in total.

The officials said the vessels would remain under detention until the fine is settled. Boat owners who are unhappy with the decision can appeal within five days to the Fisheries Penalty Notice Appeals Committee of the Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture and Ocean Resources, or approach a Maldivian court to annul the penalty notice.

The report named two of the boats as Aaron and Advin and said each carried 1.50 tonnes of fish, including swordfish, yellowfin tuna and ray fish. The third vessel was not named in the report. It was also not immediately clear whether the 25 crew members had been released.

The case rests on Maldivian law, which treats entry without a permit as fishing unless the vessel can prove otherwise. The authorities pointed to the absence of a logbook and saved GPS fishing positions as reasons the crew could not substantiate its claim that the catch was taken in Indian waters.