New Delhi, March 27 -- India's 7,500-kilometre coastline - rich in biodiversity and home to millions of fishers is under increasing threat from an outlawed fishing practice that continues with impunity: Light fishing. This method, which uses high-powered artificial lights to lure fish and squid to the surface, has been banned in India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) since 2017. Yet enforcement remains inconsistent.

"In states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, light fishing is not totally banned in territorial waters and where rules do exist, enforcement is weak," said Prakash Harikantra, an elder with the Baindoor Fishermen's Association. The ecological degradation and social disruption caused by light fishing, he added, c...