The Fisheries Department of Goa, a coast on the western coastal area of India, has issued an official order this Tuesday that bans the use of LED lights for fishing in the region, reported Herald.

The order was signed by Director of Fisheries and Ex-officio Joint Secretary Fishieries Dr. Sharmila Monterio.

The ban comes into effect as a measure to conserve the region’s fishing resources, and the result of hotly contended debate between an advocate of LED fishing lights Purse Seine Trawler and other commercial boat owners and rompankars that have argued against fishing lights.

The order that is immediately effective prohibits fishing in the area by bull or pail trawling.

 “Use or installation of the fishing gears such as LED lights, fish light attractors or any other light equipment with or without generator, on mechanized fishing vessel or motorized fishing craft, for trawling, purse- seining or gill netting is prohibited,” reads the second part of the order.

The order was passed in exercise of the powers consulted the sub section (1) and (2) of section 4 of the Goa Daman and Diu Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1980, (ACT No3 of 1981). 

Even though only 60 boats are equipped with LED fishing lights in Goa, fishermen and local fisheries department raised concerns that LED light assisted fishing methods would cause overfishing and deplete the region’s fishing resources in March 2016.

A report from Navhind Times claimed using LED lights for fishing attracted large swarms of fish resulting in a catch 10 times more than traditional fishing methods, which could disrupt market demands, resulting in unwanted surplus. It could also pose dangers of overfishing, the report claimed.

By early April, Goa Fisheries Minister Avertano Furtado was calling all coastal states in India to ban the use of LED lights in fishing boats as part of an urgent measure to conserve fishing reservoirs, reported The Hindu.

“Goa was once looked upon as an exporter of fish, but it is slowly becoming an importer. With FLAs and LED use, the situation will worsen, leading to fish famine,” he said.