The forest department on Sunday arrested 16 marine fishermen and seized a sea-worthy fishing trawl from the waters of the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary in Kendrapara district on charges of illegally fishing within the turtle congregation zone, an official said.
The fishing trawl, used by the intruders for fishing along the prohibited sanctuary area, was seized by the forest patrol teams. The intruders who were arrested are the marine fishermen of the Bhadrak and Balasore districts.
It has become quite an uphill task for the forest personnel to extricate the mammal’s body from the estuary near Talchua coast.
Intensifying its drive on illegal fishing, forest personnel have taken into custody 32 seagoing fishermen today for sneaking into prohibited…
