Goa CM Hails Local Fishermen for Rescuing Olive Ridley Turtles Trapped in Fishing Nets

Days after local fishermen saved five Olive Ridley turtles -- a protected species -- off Goa's coast, after they were trapped in their fishing nets, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has hailed their effort.

Sawant in a tweet, which also has a video of the rescue effort attached, said that the kind gesture was respectful of the natural ecosystem.

"I am grateful for the kind gesture of my Goan brothers, making our state a better place to live by respecting the nature's ecosystem," Sawant tweeted late on Sunday.

On Friday, a video of four fishermen snipping away at their fishing nets to rescue the trapped turtles at Benaulim beach in South Goa, had gone viral on social media.

The fishermen were subsequently feted by local Nationalist Congress Party MLA from Benaulim assembly constituency Churchill Alemao.

Several beaches in Goa, including Mandrem, Morjim, Agonda and Galgibagh are annually visited by the Olive Ridley turtles, which are a protected species which fall under the Schedule 1 of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, for laying of eggs.

Last month, videos of a large number of baby Olive Ridley turtles moving towards the sea in Odisha after a few days of hatching had taken the internet by a storm.

Indian Forest Service official Susanta Nanda later shared a breathtaking clip from the sight.

He tweeted, "A sight that casts magical spell year after year Nearly 2 crore plus olive Ridley hatchlings have emerged & made their way to sea from half of about 4 lakh nesting at Nasi-2 islands, Gahirmatha rookery Odisha. The spectacle continues. Early morning video."

(With IANS inputs)