Eight fishermen jailed for illegal fishing inside Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary
Kendrapara, Nov 3 (UNI) Personnel of the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary have apprehended eight fishermen for illegally catching fish after trespassing into the no-fishing zone of the sanctuary.
All the arrested fishermen were booked under Sections 27, 29, and 31 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and are punishable under Section 51 of the same Act.
They were later produced before the JMFC Court of Rajnagar, which remanded them to judicial custody after rejecting their bail pleas.
According to Deputy Ranger Kapilendra Pradhan, forest personnel seized a GPS device, two fish finders, seven fishing nets, and 25 kilograms of miscellaneous fish catch during the operation.
The arrested fishermen are residents of Balasore district.
Ranger officials reported that a trawler named “Bharati” was found unlawfully fishing in the core area of the sanctuary near Ekakula. The trawler was intercepted, and the fishermen were taken into custody.
The Marine Fishery Department has already imposed a seven-month fishing ban — from November 1 to May 31 — inside the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary in Kendrapara district to protect the mass nesting of endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles.
