Chennai, June 9 -- The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday sought a counter-affidavit from the State Government in connection with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition seeking a direction to increase the compensation provided to fishermen during the fishing ban period.

In his petition, G Thirumurugan, an advocate and State Coordinator of the fishermen's wing of the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), stated that the Tamil Nadu Government imposes a 61-day fishing ban from April 15 to June 14 to facilitate the breeding and spawning of fish species.

Similarly, mechanised and deep-sea fishing vessels operating along the Arabian Sea coast of Kanniyakumari district are subject to a separate statutory fishing ban from June 1 to Jul...