Kendrapara: Forest personnel arrested nine fishermen and seized a trawler on the charges of catching fish inside the ‘No Fishing Zone’ of Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary in the early hours of Thursday. Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary Ranger Pradosh Moharana said the Forest personnel also intercepted a trawler and seized three VHF sets, two GPS sets, one fish finder, 11 trawling nets, and seven mobile phones from the seized trawler. Moharana said the fishermen had entered the prohibited zone of Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary near Madeli mouth, just 15km from the coast.
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All the nine arrested fishermen were booked under Sections 27, 29, 31 of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, punishable under Section 51 of the said Act. They were later produced before the JMFC Court of Rajnagar which remanded them to jail custody after rejecting their bail pleas. This is the second seizure in the ongoing turtle nesting season, which began from November 1. Forest personnel of Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary had November 10 intercepted a fishing vessel and arrested seven fishermen for illegally catching fish at the ‘No Fishing Zone’ of Gahirmatha.
