…organized by Karnataka Forest Department Mangalore circle and Western Ghat Task Force, Government of Karnataka.

FSL India  was invited by  the Forest Department of  Mangalore to give a talk about the work of NGOs for sea turtle protection and problems caused by the modern fishing  methods to the sea turtle population.

Participants were officers of the  Forest Department, members of Western Ghat Task Force, the NGO ATREE, many fishermen leaders, Professors from Central Marine fisheries Regional Institute (CMFRI) etc. For FSL and the sea turtle project it was very important to join this meeting to get new contact with  other representatives and to introduce our work and aims.

The content of our presentation was threats to Sea Turtle population, extinction of Leather backs, and use of turtle excluder devices for the nets used by deep sea boats in our area.  Other speakers in their presentation highlighted the problems with  ground water, modern fisheries methods, water conservations and impact of the industrialization. Many suggestions were handed over to the representatives of the state government to preserve bio-diversity of the Mangalore region which is in  top position among the highest polluting cities of the state.