Olive ridley rescued from gill net in Sindhudurg

Mumbai: An Olive ridley turtle was rescued from the Vengurla taluka of Sindhudurg district Monday. The incident took place in the waters along the Kelus-Kalvibunder village where the marine animal was stuck in a gill net following which the fishermen rele-ased it back into the sea along with the fish catch.

The Olive ridley turtle is an endangered marine animal listed as schedule one species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Pramod Laxman Keluskar, the fisherman had ventured deep into the waters when he accidentally captured the turtle in his gill net. Although he released it into the waters, he said he had to lose his entire fish catch along with the turtle.

Swapnil Tandel, a marine researcher, said that this was the second rescue of an Olive ridley turtle in Sindhudurg which he had witnessed under his project. “Earlier in January, one Olive ridley was rescued from the same district. We are trying to indulge in fisheries interaction with the fishermen here and create awareness about endangered marine animals,” he said.   

In December 2018 too, an Olive ridley and Whale Shark got trapped in the fishing net, but were later released into the sea. Despite the compensation scheme in place by the mangrove cell, these fishermen have not yet been paid for their losses. However, according to the forest department, the compensation is followed by verification by the fisheries department.