10 fishermen on Tamil Nadu trawler held in Gujarat for ‘hunting’ dolphins

“We launched the joint operation with the Indian Coast Guard after getting a tip-off that fishermen on a Tamil Nadu fishing boat were poaching dolphins off the Gujarat coast. While rummaging through the boat, we found carcasses of 22 common dolphins in the cold room of the boat. The boat and 10 fishermen were detained and brought to Porbandar harbour late on Wednesday night. They were arrested formally on Thursday,” Agneeshwar Vyas, Porbandar deputy conservator of forests, told The Indian Express.

The common dolphin, the most abundant cetacean in the world, is a species listed on Schedule 2 of the 1972 Act and therefore a protected species in India. (Express)

The common dolphin, the most abundant cetacean in the world, is a species listed on Schedule 2 of the 1972 Act and therefore a protected species in India. Conviction in a case of hunting dolphins can entail up to three years of imprisonment or a Rs 25 000 penalty, or both.

Vyas said the fishing trawler had set sail from a port in Kerala on February 26. “The accused are claiming that they hunted common dolphins for using their meat as bait for bull sharks. The bull shark is not a scheduled animal in India and its hunting is permitted. However, we are verifying their claim,” Vyas said, adding that the Porbandar wildlife division’s jurisdiction extended up to 12 nautical miles off the coast.

The accused have been identified as Sansuman Basumatri (31), Nihal Kunancheri (26), Gilthus Muppakuddi (62), Selvan Surles (46), Raj Kumar Thanisharaj (52), Aroon Pillai (47), Anthony Barla (50), Mayadhar Raut (50), Ranjit Boro (28) and Saujin Susayarul (36). Forest officers said that five of them—Surles, Thanisharaj, Pillai, Barla and Susayrul—were from Tamil Nadu and two—Basumtari and Boro—were from Assam. Kunancheri and Muppakuddi are from Kerala and Raut from Odisha.

Vyas said the boat belonged to Barla and was registered at Colachel in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari district. The fishermen had set sail from the Kochi port.

Vyas said that besides the carcasses of 22 dolphins, four bull sharks were also found aboard the fishing trawler. “Sometimes, dolphins get trapped in fishing nets and become bycatch. But the dolphins found on the Tamil Nadu boat don’t seem to be bycatch as they appear to have been hunted with harpoons. We have recovered harpoons from the accused, prima facie proving that this is a case of hunting,” said the forest officer.

Vyas said the 22 dolphins were mature and that a few of them had already been dismembered by the fishermen, who wanted to use their meat as bait for bull sharks.