Paradip, Nov. 30: Fishermen and small boat operators today staged a demonstration in front of Jamboo marine police station protesting against unlawful fishing and mid-sea assault by trawler operators in the prohibited Gahirmatha turtle habitation corridor.

They demanded immediate crackdown on illegal sea-fishing by trawls in the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary and alleged that the influential trawler operators had made a mockery of the turtle conservation.

"Though a blanket ban remains in force along the 20-km-long Gahirmatha turtle congregation zone, trawler operation is in full swing. Authorities have turned a blind eye to it and sea fishing is going unabated," said president of the Small and Medium Boat Operators' Association Tushar Sardar.

"Trawler fishing is hazardous for the turtles. They perish in large numbers, either getting hit by propellers or entangled in mono-filament nets," said Sushant Mandal, a small boat owner.

The small boat operators alleged that the trawler operators were not only defying the ban order, but also attacking the small fishing vessels. Two vessels capsized in the past one week following a mid-sea attack by trawlers.

Trawlers from Balasore and Bhadrak districts and Bengal are entering Gahirmatha because the crew members are unaware of the prohibitory orders, they said. "The trawler intrusion is detrimental to our daily income," said Tarapad Mandal, a fisherman from Kharinasi.

The state government has clamped a fishing ban on trawlers to protect the annual migration of olive ridley sea turtles to the coastal belt.