8 fishermen arrested ,one trawler seized in national sentury

Rajesh Kumar Behera in Kendrapara, Orissa

Trawler seized and 8 fishermen arrested by forest officials for catching fish illegally inside the prohibited area of Gahirmath Marine Sanctuary The Bhitarkanika forest officials ,on Monday , arrested 8 fishermen and seized a mechanized fishingt vessel from their possession while they were catching fish illegally by entering unlawfully into the prohibited zone under Gahirmatha Marine sanctuary near Ekakaula,said P.K.Behera, the DFO of Bhitarkanika National Park. According to Behera ,While the forest officials were patrolling in the sea coast at Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary ,they found that ta fishing vessel was catching fish illegally by entering into the prohibited zone of the sanctuary. Later ,the forest officials intercepted the fishing trawler and arrested the fishermen. The arrested fishermen were the residence of Dhamara area and they used to eke out their livelihood by fishing in the Bay of Bengal. On Monday evening , the Bhitarkanika Forest officials produced 8 arrested fishermen under Wildlife Protection Act,1972 before the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Court of Pattamundai where they were remanded into jail custody after their bail petitions were rejected ,informed DFO of Rajnagar Mangrove Forest and wildlife Division , Prasanna Kumar Behera. Notably, the State Forest Department has imposed ban on fishing around 20 km off the shore from 1st November to 31st May , as to protect the endangered marine turtles, which come en mass for laying eggs at Gahirmatha Marine sanctuary. This is the first seizure of fishing vessels intercepted for unlawful intrusion into water territory prohibited for fishing operation this year after the prohibition imposed on the water of Gahirmatha in Bay of Bengal on last November 1, added DFO . According to official sources, the turtles have either been killed when they are mangled by fishing trawler propellers or suffocated in fishermen’s nets in mechanized fishing vessels during the turtle mating and nesting season. If the Gahirmatha rookery is stated to be the largest rookery it also appears to be the biggest graveyard in recent years .The beaches instead of being beacons of new life have turned into mass graveyard due to illegal fishing by the fishermen ,who come in giant trawlers for catching fish , alleged turtle conservationists. The turtle mortality rate in one year is estimated at more than 10,000 per year. The last decade and a half has seen between 10,000 to 15,000 dead Olive Ridley sea turtles washed ashore every year along the coast of Orissa , largely victims of illegal trawling in near shore waters