Seven fishermen held in restricted zone in Odisha

Seven fishermen have been allegedly arrested for intruding into the prohibited breeding zone of endangered marine animals in Odisha.

Kendrapara (Odisha): In a mid-sea crackdown, turtle protection squad of forest department has arrested seven fishermen for allegedly intruding into the prohibited breeding zone of endangered marine animals in Odisha.

The deep-sea trawler used by the accused for sea fishing near Hukitola Island within Gahirmatha marine sanctuary was also seized by the squad yesterday, official sources said. The arrested fishermen from Balasore district were later remanded to jail custody. Sea patrolling has been stepped up within the Gahirmatha water territory in view of the annual mass nesting season of the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles, the sources said. The operation to stop unlawful entry is being jointly conducted by the coast guard, forest, police and fisheries departments, said Divisional Forest Officer, Rajnagar Mangrove (Wildlife) Forest Division, Kedar Kumar Swain. The government has banned trawl fishing along the 20 km stretch of the marine sanctuary from November one in view of the mass nesting of Olive Ridley marine turtles. A large number of mating turtles, accorded as schedule-1 animal under Wildlife Protection Act for its highly threatened status, perished after being hit by fishing trawlers in the recent past, he said.