18  fishermen  sent to jail for illegally fishing in Gahirmatha sanctuary

The Samikhsya Bureau

Kendrapara: Up Date 2nd Nov: As many as 18 fishermen were arrested and  sent to jail   for illegally catching fish by trespassing into the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary. The  forest personnel  have already imposed  a seven month long fishing ban from  November 1.Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary Ranger Debashis Bhoi said  the fishermen were arrested  and  the  forest personnel have  seized seven  quintals of fish catch, 2 fish finder machines, 2 VHF sets, two numbers of GPS sets and over a dozen  fishing nets  besides  other fishing equipments from their possessions,  All the arrested fishermen  were produced before the JMFC court of Rajnagar today  and the court remanded  them into jail custody after rejecting heir bail applications. Mr Bhoi said this is the first seizure after fishing ban  was imposed on Gahiramatha Marine Sanctuary in the ongoing turtle nesting season.