Govt plans elite marine force to protect wildlife along Chennai coast
Conceived as a specialised unit with zero tolerance towards illegal fishing and wildlife crime, the force will focus on turtle nesting sites and other sensitive marine habitats located within five nautical miles of the shoreline.
The move is said to be a timely intervention at a time when marine ecosystems face mounting threats from unchecked fishing, pollution, and habitat loss. State forest secretary Supriya Sahu said it will play a critical role in strengthening real-time responses to incidents involving stranded, injured, or dead marine life, while also enhancing patrolling and surveillance during the olive ridley turtle nesting and hatching season from Nov to April.
"The initiative rests on strong inter-departmental coordination, bringing together coastal security group, Indian coast guard, fisheries department, and fishermen associations to ensure effective enforcement," she said. The collaboration seeks to integrate marine protection with community participation
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Govt has sanctioned 96 lakh for the initiative for one year. Of this, 20lakh will be spent on the purchase of deep-sea boats, while 19.80lakh was allocated for salaries of marine watchers and boat drivers.
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Another 16.20lakh was sanctioned for modern marine machinery and equipment, and 36 lakh will go towards fuel costs, underlining the intensive patrolling planned along the coast.
Two teams comprising marine watchers and drivers, with about a dozen personnel in each boat, will form the operational backbone of the force. One existing boat with the department will be modernised, and a new vessel is to be acquired soon.
Once deployed, the unit is expected to bring tangible improvements to marine conservation along the Chennai coastline.
Officials say enhanced patrolling will reduce olive ridley turtle mortalities, curtail illegal poaching and destructive trawling practices, and deter other harmful activities threatening fragile ecosystems. In addition, systematic data collection will aid research and long-term conservation efforts.
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