Kendrapada: Forest officials arrested 17 marine fishermen and seized a trawler carrying 15 quintals of fish in Gahirmatha marine sanctuary in Kendrapada district on Monday.
Manas Das, forest range officer of the sanctuary, said officials confiscated three trawling nets, four VHF sets, a GPS device and three mobile phones. The arrested fishermen were booked under sections 27, 29, and 31 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
“Gahirmatha beach is the world’s largest rookery for Olive Ridley sea turtles. To protect these endangered species, fishing is banned from Nov 1 to May 31,” Das said. “We have seized eight trawlers and arrested around 65 fishermen for illegal fishing in the sanctuary so far.”
Narayan Haldar, president of Odisha Matsyajibi Forum, claimed the fishermen were outside the sanctuary’s boundaries and were apprehended while returning to the jetty near Barunei river mouth.
“They spent three days at sea fishing in permitted areas,” Haldar said. He urged authorities to provide a designated passage at the Barunei river mouth, citing difficulties in accessing the Paradip fishing harbour due to heavy siltation.