Kendrapara: As many as 18 fishermen were arrested during the last 48 hours by the forest personnel of Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary for fishing illegally inside the no-fishing zone of the sanctuary. All the arrested fishermen were booked under Section 27, 29, 31 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 which is punishable under Section 51 of the Act. They were later produced before the JMFC court of Rajnagar, ranger of Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary Pradosh Moharana said. The forest personnel seized two mechanised fishing boats, over ten quintals of marine fish catch, five trawl fishing nets, VHP, and GPS sets from the possession of arrested fishermen, Moharana said.
The ranger said during the sea surveillance in the wee hours of Friday, they came across a mechanised fishing vessel illegally catching fish near Satabhaya after entering into the prohibited area of Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary. The patrolling team, he said, rushed to the spot, intercepted the mechanised fishing boat, and arrested seven fishermen, including one from West Bengal. The sanctuary personnel also in the wee hours of Thursday intercepted another fishing vessel and arrested 11 fishermen for catching fish at the ‘No Fishing Zone’ within Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary