After being escorted to the dais, the dignitaries were greeted with bouquets of flower as a mark of honor by the volunteers of the Programme. Then followed a Chorus of Welcome Song presented by the young student artists of a local school of Paradip.

While the chorus was about to end, the members of trawlers association including their office bearers left the meeting hall in a loud protest against the allegedly exaggerated press reports blaming the trawl owners for mass death of sea turtles in Orissa coast. Some excitement and commotion took place outside the meeting hall as a group of journalists who came to attend the programme were strongly rebuked by the aggrieved trawl owners for their allegedly exaggerated publicity on turtle death (published in Dharitree dated 9 Feb. 2002). In order to pacify the agitated crowd, the Chairman PPT, Director and Secretary Fisheries came out of the meeting hall and appealed to them to take part in the proceedings of the Workshop, which was basically meant for them and where all their grievances and demands would be discussed in depth and above board. With these words of assurance from the top dignitaries, the trawl owners returned en masse to the meeting hall and rejoined the proceedings of the Inaugural Session. Sri Kameswar Praharaj, President Balasore Trawl Owners Association who had arrived meanwhile was invited to the dais as a guest of honor along with his counterpart Sri T.K.Patnaik of OMFPA, Paradip.