At least six fishermen were arrested for fishing near a turtle nesting site at Gahirmatha marine sanctuary. The wildlife officials nabbed the men when they were fishing in the core area of the Gahirmatha. A mechanised trawler and 100 kg of fish were also seized from them. This was the first arrest in the sanctuary after the seven month fishing ban came into effect Nov 1. The state has imposed a fishing ban along 120 km of the state’s 480 km coastline to protect sea turtles, which come to the beaches for nesting during winter. The ban remains effective till May 31. The Gahirmatha marine sanctuary is one of the world’s largest turtle nesting sites, where about a half a million, endangered Olive Ridley turtles congregate in the sea waters between October and November and nest between December and March.
OdishaDiary.com