The turtle surveillance squad under Rajnagar Mangrove Forest Division spotted the vessels doing illegal fishing along the prohibited coastal water territory.
The vessels were operating near Babuballi Island off Gahirmatha coast in Orissa. Gahirmatha coast is protected area due to concentration of breeding turtles. According to Rajnagar Mangrove Forest Division sources the vessels were sea-worthy deep-sea trawlers.
The Division informed that the eight fishermen were arrested and later forwarded to court. Along with them fish catch worth nearly Rs two lakhs were seized besides fishing nets and other equipments. It is said that the arrested crewmembers were came from Digha in West Bengal. The Division sources confirmed that the illegal intrusion into the marine sanctuary area has risen up to 17 after the Government of Orissa has put a ban on fishing for four months along the 20 km stretch of Gahirmatha marine sanctuary to protect the endangered Olive Ridley marine turtles. The ban was under Sections 2,3 and 4 of Orissa Marine Fishing Regulation Act (OMFRA). The gill nets used by these trawls prove to be the death trap of the turtles as they get entangled in the nets for long time and fail to breathe.
They also get hit by these fishing vessels and die. The protection of turtle comes under the Wildlife Protection Act because of the rise in their mortality rates.
