Andhra men detained for illegal trawling

Chennai: Four fishermen from Andhra Pradesh were detained by Tamil Nadu wildlife authorities for using trawlers without mandatory turtle excluder devices (TEDs) along Chennai's coast. This is the state's first firm action against rising olive ridley turtle deaths.
The detained individuals — Dummu Balakrishnan, Sekkan Krishnamurthy, Nagarajulu and Lakshman Rao — were taken to the wildlife headquarters range office in Velachery for interrogation. Authorities are currently deliberating on charges under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, following consultations with senior officials and the legal department.
The fishermen, who set out from Kasimedu fishing harbour on Saturday, were intercepted near Ennore thermal power station by a patrol team of wildlife and fisheries officials. Upon inspection, officials discovered 16 live olive ridley sea turtles trapped under fish in their net.
The patrol team cut the net to free the turtles, which were then released into marine waters. The trawler, S Krithiga, owned by a man named Sivanandam, was operating about 3.5 nautical miles from Kasimedu, within the restricted five-nautical-mile zone where mechanised trawlers are barred from fishing.
Tamil Nadu govt has been under scrutiny from National Green Tribunal (NGT) over its failure to prevent the death of hundreds of olive ridley turtles along Chennai coast. NGT, which took suo motu cognizance, criticised the Tamil Nadu fisheries department and wildlife authorities for inadequate enforcement, highlighting that TEDs — inexpensive and effective — were not properly implemented.
The state also admitted in a recent NGT hearing that it lacked infrastructure to inspect trawlers during turtle nesting season and rented a trawler to patrol the Chennai coast as a stopgap measure.
During the hearing, Tamil Nadu also said that Andhra Pradesh fishermen were frequently violating TED regulations, leading to deaths occurring near Nellore or beyond and carcasses were being washed ashore in Chennai due to strong north-south currents.
A necropsy on three olive ridley carcasses that washed ashore a fortnight ago found that two died from drowning, while the third died of injuries.
Sea turtle conservationists say that many Andhra Pradesh fishermen kill turtles that come ashore to nest.