Rajnagar: The Forest department Saturday seized a trawler and arrested eight fishermen for unauthorised fishing in the prohibited marine zone of Gahirmatha Wildlife Sanctuary.
Acting on the direction of Gahirmatha Deputy Ranger Kapilendra Pradhan, a forest patrol team led by foresters Sanjeeb Kumar Dash and Mahanta Kumar Mallik intercepted the trawler ‘Bharati’ near Ekakula coast. During the raid, officials seized around 25 kg of fish catch, one GPS device, two VHF sets, and seven fishing nets from the vessel.
The arrested fishermen were identified as Nagendra Majhi, Purustam Jena, Bimbadhar Majhi, Bharat Jena, Rajesh Khatua, Ajay Majhi, Dushasan Tarai, and Nandu Singh, all residents of Balasore district.
According to forest officials, a case has been registered against them under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and they have been forwarded to court.
