AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Forest Department’s wildlife division uncovered a dolphin poaching ring off the coast of Porbandar, on Wednesday night, in a joint operation with the Indian coast guard and detained ten fishermen with 22 dead dolphins.
The ten accused are from Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Assam, Kerala, and other states, according to the forest department. The forest department was notified by the coast guard, which had particular information on marine animal poaching, and a coordinated operation was conducted off the coast of Porbandar.
They discovered the deceased dolphins after discovering a suspicious boat 12 nautical miles off the coast of Porbandar. A forest official told the reporters, “We have booked 10 fishermen under the relevant parts of the Wildlife Protection Act for poaching protected marine mammals and sent the dolphin bodies for
the criminal autopsy.”
The accused have been identified as Sansuman Basumatri (31), Nihal Kunancheri (26), Gilthus Muppakuddi (62), Selvan Surles (46), Raj Kumar Thanisharaj (52), Aroon Pillai (47), Anthony Barla (50), Mayadhar Raut (50), Ranjit Boro (28) and Saujin Susayarul (36).
Forest officers said that five of them—Surles, Thanisharaj, Pillai, Barla and Susayrul— were from Tamil Nadu and two—Basumtari and Boro— were from Assam. Kunancheri and Muppakuddi are from Kerala and Raut is from Odisha.
According to forest officials, the boat belonged to Barla and was registered at Colachel in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari district. The fishermen had set sail from the Kochi port.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed dolphins as both an endangered and schedule-1 species under the Wildlife Protection Act. This species cannot be fished
for under the law. Dolphin hunting convictions carry a maximum sentence of three years in
prison, a maximum fine of Rs 25,000, or both.
The coasts of Porbandar, Dwarka, Okha, and Jamnagar are home to dolphins.