Odisha to compensate 8,000 fishermen families for fishing ban for Olive Ridley protection

The Odisha government would compensate 8,000 fishermen families who would bear losses due to the fishing ban imposed for protection of the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles.

The annual fishing ban would be in force from November, 2019 to May 31, 2020 during which lakhs of turtles would arrive at the Odisha coast for mass nesting. The fishermen families would be paid a compensation of ₹7,500 per month.

On Thursday, the high power committee for protection and conservation of Olive Ridley sea turtles, chaired by Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy directed officials not to harass small traditional fishermen who carry out fishing without power boats.

According to the guidelines, trawlers with 30 HP or more are banned up to 20 km inside the sea, particularly in Olive congregation area and their buffer zones in three river mouths, namely Dhamara, Devi and Rushikulya.

The State government will set up 66 offshore patrolling camps this year to keep a close watch on fishing ban violators.

“Babubali, Agarnasi, Devinasi and Purunabandha will be bases for sea-going patrol. Seized vessels will be kept at Barunei, Gupti, Sanapeta and Krishnapriyapur,” said Hari Sankar Upadhyay, Principal Chief Wildlife Warden of Odisha.

Each patrolling camp would be provided with VHF communication devices and mobile phones. There would be regular intelligence sharing among the Indian Coastguard, patrolling ships, and various camps and marine police.