CHENNAI: In a rare capture, a group of scuba divers have documented the adverse impacts of bottom trawling on reefs and Olive Ridley turtles.
During a recreational dive to the Kovalam artificial reef site, a giant discarded trawl net was found covering a significant portion of the reef.
An adult Olive Ridley, probably a nesting turtle, was found entangled and dead. These underwater visuals serve as hard evidence in the unfortunate death of nearly 1,200 Olive Ridleys in January and February this year in Chennai.
TNIE has published a series of articles on Turtle deaths and how bottom trawlers were violating the Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing Regulation Act by operating within the prohibited 5-nautical-mile zone from the shore.
The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal took suo motu cognisance and sought a detailed action report from the State government.
Venkatesh, who runs Ocean Delight Scuba School in Kovalam and his student Siddhanth Prasad Shankar, who videographed the ghost nets in Kovalam reef site, said, "We went for a dive on April 5. During every dive, we make a conscious attempt to remove any plastic or other debris to keep the reef healthy. But, this time we found a giant trawl net that easily weighed more than 200 kgs and a school of fish feeding on a dead turtle that died after getting entangled in the net."
"The reef is located just 1.5 nautical miles from the shore. It is a huge challenge to remove the heavy discarded nets from the reef sites and the ocean floor," he added.
Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has deployed artificial reefs in 131 sites along the Tamil Nadu coast, which increased the fish production multifold, primarily for the benefit of small and traditional fishermen.
"Based on fishermen's testimonies and underwater monitoring of artificial reef sites, about Rs 25 lakh worth fish is found in each of these sites and there are records of catches worth more than a crore per annum in Tamil Nadu. Also, 10 fold increase in both fish biomass and 25 times increase in pelagic and midwater fishes are reported," a CMFRI official said.
He added that the Tamil Nadu's successful model was selected by the Union government for replication across India's coastline under the Integrated Modern Coastal Fishing Villages component of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).
Discharged fishing nets, marine plastic litter and the discharge of untreated sewage is posing a huge challenge.
To combat this, Chief Minister MK Stalin launched Tamil Nadu Fishnet Initiative Project, wherein Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has established an abandoned fishing net and other marine litter collection centre at Kasimedu in Chennai.
The initiative will soon be implemented in all coastal districts.