THANJAVUR: A young dugong, which was accidentally caught in a trap net cast to pull in fish off the Manora coast, Thanjavur district, was rescued and later released by fisherfolk with the help of forest department officials and volunteers, on Tuesday.
Sources said the dugong weighing around 150 kg got trapped in a net cast about 1.5 km from the shoreline of Manora, a dugong hotspot in Palk Bay. On information, a team of officials and volunteers rushed to the stop to carry out a rescue operation that spanned nearly an hour.
"The dugong swam within the constraints the whole time, breaking off to take breaths every seven to eight minutes," said an official of the forest department. In a rescue mission that lasted an hour, the fisherfolk and the volunteers gradually directed the dugong out of the trap net.
Courtesy of their efforts, the dugong moved out of the trap net to reach the sea before splashing trickles of water with its tail. Fisherfolk N Mahalingam, M Ashokkumar of Chinnamanai, S Surendran and C Subramaniyan of Manora were involved in the rescue mission.
District Forest Officer Akhil Thampi told TNIE that the fishermen will be felicitated cash rewards will soon be handed over, the officer said, recalling a similar rescue operation on January 3, 2023, in which an adult dugong was rescued by the fisherfolk of Manthiripattinam of Thanjavur district to applause and reward.
After the Dugong Conservation Reserve in Palk Bay was declared last year, several awareness campaigns in the coastal villages, which involved NGOs such as Omcar foundation, were conducted, said Akhil Thampi, adding that the forest department is currently setting up an 'International Dugong Conservation Centre' in Manora.