The Puducherry Department of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare has begun a physical verification drive of motorised and non-motorised fishing craft in the Union Territory (UT).According to an official, the exercise follows an instruction from the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying to all the coastal States/Union Territories to complete physical verification of fishing vessels during the 2026 fishing ban period and to update the registry with ReALCRaft (Registration and Licensing of Fishing Craft) portal data accordingly. Further, it was directed that status and action-taken reports in this regard be submitted to the Ministry.As part of the drive, the Department of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare carried out the annual physical verification of all motorised and non-motorised fishing boats, berthed at the Thengaithittu fishing harbour and 15 coastal villages in Puducherry.During the exercise, registered boat owners submitted their documents for verification. With respect to those registered fishing boats that were not produced for physical verification, a separate enquiry will be conducted. Their registration will be validated or cancelled based on the enquiry report. Published - June 08, 2026 05:21 pm IST