The Dhaka Times Desk There is a danger of an environmental disaster. Dead turtles have been floating in Cox's Bazar for the past few days. These turtles have injury marks on their bodies.
Dead bodies of mother turtles have been floating in the tidal waters of Cox's Bazar and its surrounding seashore for the past few days. Again, these turtles have injury marks on their bodies. Dead turtles have been floating in Teknaf's Baharchhara, Maheshkhaliapara, Shilkhali, Shahpari Island and even on the beaches of St. Martin's Island for the past one week.
Officials of the Department of Environment told the media, 'Every year during the winter season, that is from December to April, thousands of mother turtles come from the deep sea to the beach to lay their eggs. But the mother turtles are dying because they get caught in the nets buried by the fishermen on the coast. Again, many turtles are unable to hatch their eggs even after swimming to the sea. Environmental experts have expressed fear that these tired turtles are being attacked by dogs as soon as they come to the coast.
Fishermen of Maheshkhaliapara in Teknaf said, 'Big turtles tear the nets when they get caught in the nets. So to protect the net, the fishermen quickly hit and killed the turtle.
Talking to the fishermen, the same thing is known, if the turtle is trapped, no more fish are caught in that net. Such superstitions prevail in prisons on the coast. Fishermen said that turtles are killed from this idea.
Saint Martin Union Parishad Chairman Nurul Amin told the media that 41 dead turtles floated on the island's beach on Wednesday. Mother turtles are being killed by fishermen when they get caught in fishing trawlers. It is now necessary to make the fishermen aware.
Shah Alam, Professor of Zoology Department of Chittagong University, told the media, 'A turtle caught in a big net stays alive for two to three hours. The fishermen then beat them to death and threw the dead turtle into the sea. But turtles eat sea garbage and protect the balance of the environment. He commented that turtles should be protected to protect the balance of the environment.
Department of Environment, Cox's Bazar, preparations are being made for miking on the coast to make the fishermen aware that turtles should not be beaten and released into the sea if caught in nets.
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