Forest officials on Saturday arrested 17 marine fishermen and seized the seaworthy fishing trawlers carrying them in the waters of the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary in Odisha’s Kendrapara district for illegally fishing within the turtle congregation zone, an official said.
The fishing trawlers used by the intruders for fishing in the prohibited sanctuary area, along with their fishing implements, were seized by the forest patrol teams.
The fishing vessel had trespassed into prohibited sanctuary corridors, contravening the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, the Orissa Marine Fishing Regulation Act, and the mandatory rules of the marine sanctuary, the forest officer added.
With the latest interceptions, around 350 fishermen have so far been arrested for acts of intrusion into the marine sanctuary as the forest department is intent on ensuring the safety of Olive Ridley sea turtles, forest officials said.
It should be noted here that the state government has imposed a seven-month ban on trawl fishing along the 20 km stretch from Dhamara to the Devi River mouth from 1 November in view of the ensuing mass nesting of endangered Olive Ridley marine turtles. The fishing prohibition remains enforced round the year in Gahirmatha as it is accorded the status of a marine sanctuary. The mute species, listed as a Schedule 1 animal under the Wildlife Protection Act due to its highly threatened status, gets entangled in the nets for prolonged periods and dies of asphyxiation. The turtles also perish in large numbers after getting struck by the fast-moving propellers of fishing trawlers, forest personnel concluded.