16 Olive Ridleys freed from trawl net near Ennore

FOR the first time since the crisis of mass Olive Ridley turtle deaths broke out, a joint night patrol team on Saturday rescued and released 16 of the endangered turtles entangled in a trawl net off the Chennai coast.

- SV KRISHNA CHAITANYA

Experts said this is the first evidence that the turtle deaths are caused by bottom trawlers.

Chennai Wildlife Warden Manish Meena told TNIE the patrol team intercepted a trawl boat operating within the prohibited zone of 5 nautical miles near Ennore and asked the crew to lift the net out of water. "To our shock, 16 Olive Ridleys were entangled in it. Fortunately all of them were alive. The turtles were immediately checked for injuries and released back into the water," he said.