Chennai: With the sea turtle season (Nov-May) set to start soon, state govt officials are planning to kick-start preparations by holding awareness drives among fishermen to use trawlers cautiously.Forest department officers have been instructed to hold inter-departmental meetings with the fisheries department, coastal security groups, and local bodies this month as part of pre-season activities (Oct to Dec) to prepare for the season. This year, officials plan to go by the book—as the forest department released a standard operating procedure for sea turtle conservation last month, detailing the procedures to be followed by government departments and the public.The turtles will mate during Nov and through half of Dec. Peak nesting happens from the end of Dec through Feb and hatching happens in March. The season spans Nov-May.The awareness will begin with the fisheries department. “We will visit fisherfolk in the coming days and sensitise them to using trawlers cautiously. More precaution needs to be taken during the nesting season from mid Dec, and trawlers must maintain a buffer of 5 nautical miles from the coast to avoid hurting turtles,” an inspector of fisheries said, adding that fishermen will be sensitised to use turtle-excluder devices mandatorily.Coastal security groups will engage in moderate patrolling for about 2-3 hours, and environmental groups will be called in to carry out beach clean up. “Much of the work will begin later this month and in Dec, closer to nesting. Signboards will be set up, and the local bodies will be informed to minimize activities at beaches,” a ranger said.
