Supreme Court directs Tamil Nadu to formulate rules for fishing vessel transit to Exclusive Economic Zones

The Supreme Court directed the Tamil Nadu government to formulate rules for creating a specified navigation corridor for fishing vessels to transit from its territorial waters to the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) for purse seine fishing. This judgment emphasizes cooperative federalism between the Centre and the State in regulating fishing, clarifies the legislative spheres of both (Union List Entry 57 for beyond territorial waters, State List Entry 21 for within territorial waters), and upholds the fundamental right to practice a profession (Article 19(1)(g)) while ensuring proper regulation. The court also highlighted the lack of coordination in processing access passes for the EEZ.