CHENNAI: In a rare capture, a group of scuba divers have documented the adverse impacts of bottom trawling on reefs and Olive Ridley turtles. During a recreational dive to the Kovalam artificial reef site, a giant discarded trawl net was found covering a significant portion of the reef.
Venkatesh, who runs Ocean Delight Scuba School in Kovalam and his student Siddhanth Prasad Shankar, who videographed the ghost nets in Kovalam reef site, said, “We went for a dive on April 5. During every dive, we make a conscious attempt to remove any plastic or other debris to keep the reef healthy. But, this time we found a giant trawl net that easily weighed more than 200 kgs and a school of fish feeding on a dead turtle that died after getting entangled in the net.”
Source: The New Indian Express