Bhubaneswar, Nov 10 (Inditop.com) At least eight fishermen were arrested for fishing in the prohibited area of a turtle nesting site in Orissa’s Kendrapada district, a senior forest official said Tuesday.
The forest officials caught the fishermen Monday evening when they were fishing at Gahirmatha sanctuary – one of the world’s largest turtle nesting sites where 700,000 to 800,000 endangered Olive Ridley turtles nest every winter.
“We have also seized their mechanised trawler,” divisional forest officer P.K. Behera told Inditop.
The arrested fishermen were produced in a local court Tuesday. The court rejected their bail applications and remanded them to judicial custody.
The state government has banned all types of fishing within 20 km off the shore near the nesting site from Nov 1 to May 31 to protect the turtles.
The Gahirmatha sanctuary is located about 170 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.
