The Odisha government, on Thursday, disbursed Rs 22.54 crore financial assistance among seagoing fishermen from six coastal districts to compensate loss of livelihood in the wake of periodic prohibition on marine fishing as part of Olive Ridley sea turtle conservation programme.
State Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment and Fisheries & Animal Resource Development Ranendra Prasad Swain disbursed the amount to fishermen families under “Livelihood support to Marine fishermen during Fishing ban period for Olive Ridley Turtle Conservation” scheme for strengthening their livelihood during ban period imposed for Olive Ridley turtle conservation.
A total of 15037 fishermen families benefited under the state government’s scheme, an official said on Thursday.
Minister Swain said the government introduced the State Plan Scheme “Livelihood support to Marine fishermen during Fishing ban period for Olive Ridley Turtle Conservation” with an objective to provide financial assistance to affected families for strengthening their livelihood during fishing ban period.
Odisha is one of the important Maritime States in the country endowed with a 480 km long coastline. About 5.18 lakh of marine fishers belonging to 1.15 lakh families solely depend on fishing for their livelihood.
Odisha’s coastline is widely acclaimed as the World’s largest breeding ground for the rare Olive Ridley turtle. Every year they come from thousands of miles to the coast of Odisha to lay their eggs. To protect their spawning process, fishing restrictions are imposed from 1 November to 31 May every year near the Rushikulya river mouth of Ganjam district, Dhamara river mouth of Bhadrak district, Devi river mouth of Puri and Jagatsinghpur district and throughout the year in the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary of Kendrapara district.
The government introduced the State Plan Scheme “Livelihood Support to Marine Fishermen during Fishing Ban Period” since 2016-17 fiscal.
The state government has enhanced the livelihood assistance from time to time considering the demand of fishermen in different forums. The amount was increased to Rs 7500 in 2017-18. The amount was again enhanced to Rs. 15,000 in last year. This year, out of 15037 fisher’s families, 753 affected families of Bhadrak District have been newly included under the scheme, added the official.