KENDRAPARA: Forest officials on Saturday seized three trawlers and arrested 19 fishermen for violating the ban on fishing at Gahirmatha marine sanctuary.
Around six quintals of fish, 22 fishing nets and three GPS devices were seized from the impounded vessels. The arrested fishermen were booked under provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and produced in a court at Rajnagar where their bail pleas were rejected, said the range officer of the marine sanctuary, Manas Das. He said at least 275 fishermen have been arrested and 38 vessels seized for illegal fishing at Gahirmatha from November 1, 2022, till date.
Meanwhile, the president of Odisha Masyajibi Forum Narayan Haldar said many fishermen enter the sanctuary inadvertently at night as the sanctuary has not been properly demarcated. Recently, at a turtle conservation meeting held at Bhubaneswar, the Forum stressed the need for demarcating the sanctuary by floating 100 good quality buoys. The 14 buoys in the sanctuary are not enough to demarcate the ‘no fishing zone’, spread over 1,360 sq km in the sea, Haldar said.
He said the Forum has also been seeking a passage at Barunei river mouth as it is not possible for the fishermen to enter the sea from the jetties at Kharinashi, Jamoo and Talachua.
As per Odisha Marine Fishing Regulation Act (OMFRA), 1982 the authorities should not prevent the river mouth from being used as passage by fishermen. Many fishing boats enter the sea near Barunei river mouth to reach safer places on the coast during bad weather, cyclones and other emergencies.
“But the forest officials arrest them on the charge of intruding into the marine sanctuary areas,” he said.