Kendrapara (Odisha), Feb 25: Unlawful sea fishing has “almost” come to a grinding halt in Gahirmatha marine sanctuary, in the wake of heightened sea vigil along the Odisha coast helping in the safety of the endangered species, a coast guard official said.
Interception of an al-Qaida operative near Cuttack and arrest of activists of outlawed SIMI from Rourkela recently have prompted security forces to be more vigilant to curb possible infiltration of subversive anti-national elements through the sea route, officials said.
As a result of the threat perception, security vigil has been enhanced besides intensifying round-the-clock patrolling which have brought illegal sea fishing in Gahirmatha marine sanctuary “almost to a grinding halt”, a coast guard official said in Paradip.
“Coast security has been stepped up in a coordinated manner with our counterparts in Haldia (West Bengal) and Vishakhapatnam.
Sea-route security has been stepped up because of intelligence inputs warning, infiltration of foreign vessels with intent of subversive and terror ploy. However, Odisha coast has so far remained untouched by foreign vessels’ infiltration”, the coast guard official said .
Fishermen and crew of sea-worthy fishing vessels have largely stayed away from venturing into the sea with the considerable tightening of security, Additional Fisheries (marine) Officer, Paradip, Bharat Chandra Sahoo, said.
Ban on sea fishing remains in force within the 20 km long marine sanctuary to ensure the safety of olive ridley marine turtles.
The state government in a bid to curb high mortality of these marine species has prohibited fishing activity within a seaward radius of 20 km from Gahirmatha marine sanctuary from November 1 till May 31 in accordance with Orissa Marine Fishing Regulation Act (OMFRA), 1982.
In the last fortnight not a single trawl intrusion has been detected.
This security patrolling by the Coast Guard has also invigorated the turtle conservation drive, a forest official said.
“Joint patrolling by forest, state marine police and marine fisheries has been going on in a well-oiled manner because of the strong presence of Coast Guard ships, ” Divisional Forest Officer, Rajnagar Mangrove (wildlife) Division, Bimal Prasanna Acharya, said.
There is an increase in awareness level among the fishermen communities. As a result, unlawful sea fishing activity has been brought down considerably this year, the DFO said.
