The forest officials, during the wee hours of Thursday, arrested ten marine fishermen from Andhra Pradesh on the charge of illegally fishing within the turtle congregation zone in Gahirmatha marine sanctuary of Odisha’s Kendrapara district, said forest officials.
The arrested marine fishermen were natives of the Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh. The trawls and fishing implements used by them for sea voyage in prohibited marine sanctuary areas were seized. Later, they were remanded to judicial custody under relevant sections of the wildlife protection act, 1972, said officials.
Two fishing vessels had trespassed into prohibited sanctuary corridors contravening the provisions of wildlife protection act, Orissa Marine fishing regulation act and mandatory rules of marine sanctuary, added the forest officer.
With the latest interception, 367 marine 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, said forest officials. Around a dozen of sea-worthy vessels were also seized in the process since November 1 enforcement of the sea-fishing ban.
It should be noted here that the state government has clamped a seven month log trawl fishing ban along the 20 km stretch Dhamara-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 marine sanctuary. The mute species, accorded as schedule-1 animal under wildlife protection act for its highly threatened status, get entangled in the nets for prolonged periods and die of asphyxiation. The turtles also perish in large numbers after getting hit by the fast moving propeller of the fishing trawlers, forest personnel said.
More than 6.06 lakh lakh Olive Ridley turtles had turned up for their annual sojourn for mass nesting earlier in March 2025 mass nesting season. The female turtles had emerged from the sea to crawl on to the serene beach, dig pits to lay millions of eggs.