10 fishermen held for illegal fishing in Gahirmatha sanctuary

Ten fishermen were arrested Friday for sneaking into the prohibited Gahirmatha marine sanctuary in Odisha's Kendrapara district, forest officials said.

Two fishing vessels were also seized by the protection squad, a forest official said.

"The fishing vessels had trespassed into the prohibited sanctuary corridors contravening the provisions of Wildlife Protection Act, Orissa Marine Fishing Regulation Act and mandatory rules of marine sanctuary," said Forest Range Officer Subrat Patra.

The crackdown on unlawful sea fishing has been stepped up to make the turtles concentration zone isolated from human interference.

The Coast Guard has also launched an exercise along the serene sea waters of Gahirmatha marine sanctuary to protect the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles during their mating season.

The traditional marine fishermen who formed the crew of the impounded vessel were from Balasore, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts. They were later forwarded to jail custody under provisions of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and Orissa Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1982, he said.

Four patrolling vessels have been pressed into service with a contingent of 50 armed policemen to intercept fishing trawlers engaged in illegal fishing in Gahirmatha marine sanctuary.

The operation is being jointly conducted by the Coast Guard, forest and police and fisheries department after the marine animals began their annual breeding season earlier in November, said Divisional Forest Officer, Rajnagar Mangrove (Wildlife) Forest Division, Bimal Prasanna Acharya.

The state government has clamped a 7-month trawl fishing ban along the 20 km Dhamara-Devi river mouth stretch from November 1 in view of ensuing mass nesting of endangered Olive Ridley marine turtles.

The mute species, accorded as schedule-1 animal under Wildlife Protection Act for its highly threatened status, get entangled in the nets for prolonged period and die of asphyxiation.

The turtles also perish in large numbers after getting hit by the fast moving propeller of the fishing trawlers, forest officials said.