Mumbai: The Mangrove Foundation, an autonomous society operating under the aegis of the state forest department’s mangrove cell, on Wednesday awarded ₹1,00,000 in compensation to eight fishermen from Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri districts for the release of sea turtles inadvertently caught as bycatch. These include four green sea turtles (endangered), two Olive Ridley turtles (vulnerable) and two hawksbill sea turtles (critically endangered). In the current financial year alone, compensation worth at least ₹ ₹12,52,500 has been paid based on 94 claims.
The compensation scheme, jointly launched by the forest and fisheries department in December 2018, seeks to compensate fisherfolk for the loss of fishing nets and encourage them to release protected species that get tangled up in them. Without such a scheme, fishers do not have any incentive for releasing the creatures at the cost of their equipment and catch.
Since the scheme’s inception, 272 compensation claims have been received by the state government and ₹41,78,050 has been disbursed to 261 fishermen. Sea turtles are the most commonly affected species, with 140 Olive Ridleys having been caught and released in nearly four years, followed by 71 green sea turtles, seven hawksbill turtles and two leatherback turtles.
At least ₹31 lakh has been paid in compensation for the release of turtles alone. This is followed by whale sharks, another endangered species towards which at least ₹8,54,700 has been paid in compensation.
As per the scheme, if any fisherman finds a protected marine animal caught in their nets, they are entitled to compensation of up to ₹25,000 if they release the animal and their fishing gear is damaged in the process. All claimants have to submit video graphic and photographic evidence of the incident, along with the GPS coordinates of where the animal was caught and released along with details of their boat licence.
In January this year, the state government revised the compensation structure and fisherfolk are now reimbursed based on the size of the animal and the degree of protection accorded to the species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
The state forest department had last paid ₹5.35 lakh to 38 fishermen from Thane and Palghar districts, for the release of 26 Olive Ridley turtles, six whale sharks, two guitarfish, one green sea turtle, one Hawksbill turtle and one finless porpoise.