Rajnagar: Forest officials arrested 19 fishermen and seized two trawlers for allegedly fishing illegally in the prohibited waters of Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary.
Acting on the direction of Assistant Conservator of Forests Manas Kumar Das, a patrol team led by Deputy Ranger Kapilendra Pradhan and Foresters Mahanta Kumar Mallik and Sanjib Kumar Das intercepted the vessels, FB Debi Chamunda and Masood-1, near Barunei and Ekakula.
Officials recovered 6.5 quintals of fish, two GPS devices, three VHF sets, two fi sh fi finders and 18 trawling nets from the trawlers.
The arrested fishermen include Bharat Singh, Purna Chandra Singh, Sajawat Ali Saha, Sheikh Lalu, Sheikh Salman, Biswajit Maity, Babi Singh, Chandan Singh, Sanjib Pal, Biswanath Das, Subrata Bar, Khokan Bar and Chandan Panigrahi, among others.
All 19 accused have been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and produced in court, the Forest Department said.
The fishermen are reportedly from Purba Medinipur district in West Bengal and Balasore.
