Mumbai: Fishermen in the coastal districts of Maharashtra have been given Rs 40.78 lakh as compensation for releasing 260 protected sea creatures, including Olive Ridley and Green Sea Turtles, back into the sea in the last three years. This information was given in an official release. It was told that these creatures were caught in the fishing nets of these fishermen.
The compensation is being paid under a scheme jointly launched by the state forest department and fisheries department in December 2018, which aims to conserve the rare species of marine life. So far, 138 olive ridley turtles, 67 green sea turtles, five hawksbill turtles, two leatherback sea turtles, 37 deer sharks, six giant guitar fish, four finless porpoises, among others, have been released back into the sea, the release said.
read also
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said during an event here on Thursday that the mangrove cell (Kandalvan Pratishthan) has given a compensation of Rs 40.78 lakh to the fishermen who had released the sea creatures back into the sea. Compensation amount has been given to the fishermen for the damage caused to the fishing net.
The Chief Minister said that the cell has done commendable work for the conservation of marine biodiversity and similar serious efforts are needed for the conservation of biodiversity in the state. Thackeray also called for a massive public awareness campaign for the initiative. State Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray said that the state government has taken ambitious steps to conserve the mangrove forest. He said that the area of mangrove forest in Maharashtra is 32,000 hectares. To protect the mangroves, it is being given the status of a protected forest.