A video of fishermen rescuing four olive ridley turtles caught in abandoned fishing nets in south Goa has gone viral in India. So viral, that the state Chief Minister has applauded the act as a “kind gesture (…), making our state a better place to live by respecting the ecosystem”.
However, the state government has been criticized by conservationists for only posting videos to attract popular attention but not acting on the problem. Recommendations, especially to the forest department, have been ignored, just like the plea of Ocean Watch to the government to set up a sea turtle treatment clinic.
“A quick release with no follow-up action often leads to the death of a turtle”, the Co-founder of Marine Wildlife Stranding explains. Especially since the turtles in the video were not a one-off incident. The olive ridley turtle, a Schedule I species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, is prone to become caught in abandoned fishing nets floating in the Arabic Sea. Within the last three years, 340 stranding incidents had taken place, that is a sea turtle washing up every three days on average. Not far from where the video was shot, five other turtles had died or become heavily injured after washing ashore caught in such nets.
Ocean Watch has further proposed recycling of such fishing nets to the state government, but most recommendations are still on paper.
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