The threat posed by ‘ghost nets’ — fishing nets discarded or lost in the sea — to marine life forms became shockingly evident on Thursday when three Olive Ridley turtles were discovered battling for their lives in the sea off Kovalam.
Exhausted and injured in the effort to wriggle free of the net, the turtles were handed over to scientists at the Vizhinjam unit of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI). The carcass of a fourth Olive Ridley was found washed up on the beach.
The Olive Ridleys ( Lepidochelys olivacea ) were first sighted around 6.30 a.m. by Raju, a volunteer of Friends of Marine Life (FML), a Valiyathura-based marine research group.
An hour-long wait
Tangled in the net, the turtles were about 150 metres away from the beach. With the sea extremely rough, FML volunteers and local clam fishermen had to wait till 7.30 a.m. before they could finally wade out and haul the net to the beach.
On finding the turtles alive, they alerted the Forest Department. Forest officials from the Paruthipally range office arrived by 10.30 a.m. As the department lacked adequate facilities to treat the injured turtles, they were handed over to CMFRI scientists. “The incident demonstrates the danger posed by ghost nets in the region. Theoretically, marine wildlife also falls within the ambit of the Forest Department, but they are ill-equipped to deal with such emergencies,” FML convener and researcher Robert Panipilla said.
‘Traps’ in reefs
The UN Ocean Conference held in 2017 had drawn attention to the disastrous effects of ghost fishing nets. In June, a large pile of fishing nets was among the tonnes of garbage washed up in Kovalam. “We believe that the turtles were trapped in the ghost nets when they approached the underwater reefs in Kovalam. The government should take steps to rid these reefs of such nets,” Mr. Panipilla said.
