Shoma Patnaik
Panaji
Efforts to protect endangered sea turtles from death caused by commercial fishing gear are set to take off in Goa, marked by a state government initiative to collect abandoned and discarded fishing nets from beaches, estuaries and trawlers.
These discarded nets or ghost nets, known to trap and kill marine life, will be gathered and sent for recycling through the Goa Waste Management Corporation and authorised recyclers. To support the drive, the fisheries department will set up dedicated collection bins across all seven fishing jetties in the state.
Alongside ghost net collection, authorities are mandating a 100% enforcement of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) on trawlers, requiring a minimum mesh escape opening of 35 cm by 12 cm to prevent turtles from drowning in commercial gear.
These decisions were finalised during the first meeting of the Supreme Court-mandated State Coordination Committee (SCC) for the conservation of sea turtles. Chaired by Chief Wildlife Warden and Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests K Ramesh Kumar, the committee decided to engage two NGOs –ReefWatch Marine Conservation and TREE: Trust for Research, Education & Environment – to manage nest monitoring, hatchery operations, turtle tagging and community outreach over a 10-year period.
The SCC approved a series of protective measures along the coast. The coastal police will step up daytime patrols from October through May, alongside dedicated night patrols between 8 pm and 6 am at key nesting beaches – Morjim, Mandrem, Agonda, and Galgibag. The strategy also includes a public awareness campaign, a single-point helpline to report nesting events, egg poaching or injured turtles, and official guidance posters detailing how to treat stranded specimens.
Additionally, the forest department has proposed observing World Sea Turtle Day on June 16 through community activities, including beach clean-ups, sand art displays and student competitions.
The SCC brings together key state and central stakeholders, including the Goa Forest Development Corporation (GFDC) managing director alongside representatives from the fisheries department, coastal police, Indian Coast Guard, Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), tourism department, state department of environment and climate change, directorate of industries and the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).
The initiative follows a Supreme Court order dated April 2, 2025, which mandated the set-up of coordination committees across all coastal states. The apex court directed states to frame tailored standard operating procedures addressing five key causes of turtle mortality: trawl nets, entanglement in non-trawl gear like gill and ray nets, egg poaching, shoreline hatchling disorientation from artificial lighting and the degradation of nesting grounds.
President of GCCI Pratima Dhond said turtle conservation will serve as a flagship corporate social responsibility project for the industry body, adding that the chamber will coordinate with the department of industries to channel funds from commercial enterprises into these protection measures.
