The relaxations announced in the Goa mariculture policy will pave the way for non-Goan investors to set up cage fishing in Goa, which will be detrimental to Goan ramponkars and traditional fishermen, said Goa Forward Party (GFP) in a memorandum to the Directorate of .
The concern of the ramponkars is that big investors from outside Goa will take over the coastal waters in the name of cage fishing and will stop local fishermen from fishing in the waters. Large scale commercial cage fishing activity will cause a lot of pollution due to chemicals, antibiotics used to protect the fish and the waste generated by the fish. This will keep wild fish away from the waters where traditional fishermen venture to catch fish