WILLEMSTAD - Recently the Coast Guard penalized three fishermen in the Santa Martha area who had a gillnet with them.
Their boat was also seized because they were unable to show valid ship documents.
The Coast Guard regularly discovers illegal use of gill or tramline nets. These are nets in which a fish swims, but cannot get out because the gills of the fish get stuck in the net.
There is a ban on the use of these nets because all marine life, by-catch and small fish, ends up in the nets.
This endangers the population of the underwater fauna. For these reasons, there is a ban on the use of these networks on both Curaçao and Klein Curaçao. In view of the 2004 fisheries ordinance, the Coast Guard continues to strictly monitor the use of these nets. If gill or trammel nets are observed, the Coast Guard will seize these nets and the fisherman can be fined.