Kendrapara: `Operation Oliver` has
been launched by the Odisha government to protect Olive Ridley
turtles arriving for mating at the Garimata sanctuary in
Kendrapara district.
The Cost Guard has deployed a ship and a Dornier aircraft
to keep watch for fishermen, for whom Garimata is off limits.
"We do it every year for safety of the turtles who die if
they are hit by propellors of trawlers or get entangled in
fishing nets," Deputy Inspector General, Coast Guard, Paradip
K P S Raghuvamshi said today.
"A high-power committee of Odisha government has sought
our services in the turtle conservation programme," he said.
"Accordingly the operation to keep vigil on illegal
fishing along the turtle concentration zone is in full swing,"
Raghuvamshi said.
Patrol vessels of the forest and fisheries department
often sought assistance from Coast Guard ships in the event of
exigencies, he said.
The patrol in turtle congregation sites would be in force
till marine turtles finish laying eggs on beaches, the CG DIG
said.
The Coast Guard had earlier asked the state fisheries
department to issue identity cards to fishermen in coastal
villages.
Identification of Bangladeshis infiltrating by sea is
a cumbersome process due to similarity in language, looks and
physical features with local Bengali-speaking fishermen, Coast
Guard sources said.
"Often we find ourselves in catch-22 situation. The
crew members from intercepted vessels are found to be
Bengali-speaking. There is very little to distinguish between
a Bangladeshi and a migrant Bengali fisherman on the basis of
physical features and language," Raghuvamshi said.
PTI
