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Thousands of turtles die on Orissa coast

The Orissa coastline, the largest breeding and nesting ground of the Olive Ridley sea turtles in the world, has turned into a mass graveyard for this endangered species.

''Operation Kachhapa'', a survey conducted by a leading voluntary organisation shows more than 6,000 turtles were killed on the Orissa coast due to illegal mechanised trawling in prohibited areas and non-use of the mandatory turtle excluder devices.

The beaches from Paradip to Dhamra river mouth and Kadua to Devi river mouth witnessed the maximum number of deaths due to non-enforcement of fishery laws, the report said.

Over the past decade, these turtles have been facing a threat due to illegal mechanised trawling. Last year, more than 20,000 Ridley's were killed on the coast, even as more than 700,000 turtles, a record number, came to the famous Gahirmatha beach in Kendrapada district to nest.

Wildlife lovers say that though coast guards patrol the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary to protect the mating turtles, no step have been taken to check their deaths along the coastline.

Other areas which have reported mass casualties are Devi river mouth to Paradip, Arakhakuda to Kadua river mouth and Rushikulya river mouth to Chilika Arakhakuda mouth.

Secretary of the Wildlife Society of Orissa Biswajit Mohanty said that though killing or capturing a Ridley was punishable under the Wildlife Protection Act, unless stringent action was taken against the offenders, the death toll might cross last year's mark.

Also, there was no patrolling by the fisheries department to enforce the Orissa Marine Fisheries Regulation Act, 1982 which prohibits fishing by mechanised trawlers within ten km of the coastline, he pointed out.

Though the fisheries department made it mandatory in 1997 for all fishing trawlers operating in the Orissa coast to use turtle excluder devices or surrender their licences, trawlers continue to fish close to the shore within the prohibited zone at Rushikulya, Devi, Kadua, Jatadhar river mouths and Harishpur coast, as the department did not initiate any punitive action, Mohanty added.

Despite repeated demands by turtle lovers, not a single fishing trawler operating in Orissa used TEDs, leading to avoidable deaths of thousands of turtles every year, he said.

According to conservative estimates, more than 75,000 sea turtles had been killed on the Orissa coast during the last five years, after being trapped in nets used by mechanised boats.

UNI

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