After a brief lull, security personnel resumed marine patrolling along the Gahirmatha coast on Wednesday. The patrolling by police and Coast Guard personnel was put off following a row erupted over killing of a fisherman in the deep sea on January 12.
More than 50 patrolling staff resumed work with seven vessels, including five trawlers, under the guidance of a judicial magistrate, said Divisional Forest Officer Kedar Kumar Swain. The team seized a trawler operating illegally within the prohibited area and arrested seven people on the first day of resumption, he informed.
Notably, the fishing activities along the coast have been restricted for six months till May 31, 2014 for protection of Olive Ridley sea turtles during their nesting season. On January 12, an exchange of fire took place between the patrolling officials and some fishermen in the deep sea off the coast. A fisherman fell prey to the security personnel bullets. The patrolling was stopped since then. More than half-a-million turtles come to the beach every year for the nesting, officials said.
