Chennai: Fishermen saved and freed a sea turtle entangled in abandoned fishing net during one of their routine trips on Monday about 4km off Vedhalai village in Ramanathapuram district.They had been trained to collect ghost gear and rescue marine animals under the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation’s (MSSRF) community-led ghost gear management programme in the Gulf of Mannar.“Ghost gear is one of the major issues in Gulf of Mannar because it affects all coral reefs, seaweed, seagrass beds and other marine mammals, including dolphins and dugongs. Most of the time, turtles get entangled in these nets and die,“ said S Velvizhi, director of fisheries and livelihoods, MSSRF.The initiative, launched as a pilot with UNDP support four-and-a-half years ago, and later expanded with funding from the HCL Foundation, trains fishermen to retrieve abandoned fishing gear and safely rescue entangled marine animals. The programme has so far helped rescue 15 turtles and three dolphins.It has mobilised 10,261 community members, restored 216 km of coastline, removed about 70 tonnes of marine debris, and processed 30 tonnes of waste through segregation and upcycling. Their awareness programmes have reached 40 coastal villages and eight institutions. Around 200 boat owners have also adopted voluntary guidelines on responsible fishing and ghost gear management.Researchers said the programme has established community-led marine debris management systems across three Gulf of Mannar clusters, and built a ghost gear recovery chain, linking collection, segregation and recycling. Women self-help groups run segregation centres at Vedhalai and Tuticorin, where recovered nets are sorted for industrial reuse.“Initially, the ghost gear was handed over to the panchayat, but we realised that wasn’t enough. Unless we established circularity, the work was not meaningful,“ Velvizhi said. “We set up segregation centres managed by women’s self-help groups, where recovered gear is sorted and supplied to industries as raw material.”
