KENDARPARA: Forest officials arrested 11 fishermen for violating the fishing ban in Gahirmatha marine sanctuary here on Sunday night.
Forest range officer of the sanctuary Pradosh Moharana said the fishermen were caught fishing within the turtle zone in the sea off Gahirmatha. Apart from their fishing trawler, two VHFs, one GPS, fish finder and four trawling nets were seized from them.
All the arrested fishermen were booked under sections 27, 29, 31 and 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. They were produced in court on Monday.
Moharana said marine fishermen have been directed not to fish within 20 km radius from the coastline of Gahirmatha marine sanctuary covering 1,435 sq km from Hukitola to Dhamara. The government has banned all types of fishing from November 1 to May 31 to protect the endangered Olive Ridley turtles which come to Gahirmatha coast for laying eggs every winter. Forest guards have been deployed to arrest those violating the fishing ban in the sanctuary areas.
“We have established 16 turtle protection camps including two offshore ones at Madali and Babubali islands to protect the Olive Ridleys which are now mating in the sea,” the forest officer added.