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93 Olive Ridley turtles perish on Odisha beach
At least 93 Olive Ridley sea turtle carcasses were sighted in Gahirmatha beaches from November 1 to December 29, said Rajnagar Mangrove Forest and Wildlife Division DFO Manoj Kumar Mohapatra.
The number of carcasses of the endangered turtles has got reduced this year in the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary compared to last year’s casualty rate during the time. It has been possible only due to tight joint patrolling of the forest personnel, Coast Guard and local marine police on the coast. The joint patrolling team has managed to restrict the entry of trawlers’ movement in the protected area of Gahirmatha.
Last year as many as 536 carcasses of the Olive Ridley turtles were sighted during their nesting season. The forest department sources said they have set up 16 camps, including 14 onshore and two offshore under the sanctuary to keep a watch on the illegal entry of trawlers.
The endangered Olive Ridley turtles, protected under Schedule 1 of wildlife Protection Act,1972, grow up to 75 centimetres (25 inches) in length. They are found in the tropical regions of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
The turtles are killed when they get entangled in the nets of mechanised fishing vessels during their mating season, which starts from December to January. During the time, they congregate in lakhs for the mass nesting.
According to Mohapatra, during the breeding season, males and females migrate from their feeding ground to the breeding ground. The mating occurs in the offshore waters. The female turtles tend to move towards the beaches in large synchronized concentrations. They lay their eggs at midnight in 45 centimetres pits which they dig by their rear flappers. After laying the eggs in the pits, the female turtles cover the nests with sand and return to the sea in a zigzag manner to confuse predators about the location of the nests.
The endangered species rarely turn up in such large numbers anywhere in the earth. The female turtles lay 120 to 150 eggs at one go. Hatchlings emerge from these eggs after 45-60 days and find their way to the sea creating a cacophony. It is one of Nature’s rare phenomena, where babies grow without their mother. According to the DFO, the endangered species’ mortality rate is so high that one egg out of every 1,000 hatches.
The Odisha Government has imposed a seven month’s fishing ban from November 1 to May 31, 2012 under the Odisha Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1982 and Odisha Marine Fishing Rules, 1983 to protect the endangered turtles at Gahirmatha. In last turtle nesting season, about 5.20 lakh sea turtles had arrived on the sandy beach in two phases for laying eggs, said sources.
At least 93 Olive Ridley sea turtle carcasses were sighted in Gahirmatha beaches from November 1 to December 29, said Rajnagar Mangrove Forest and Wildlife Division DFO Manoj Kumar Mohapatra.
The number of carcasses of the endangered turtles has got reduced this year in the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary compared to last year’s casualty rate during the time. It has been possible only due to tight joint patrolling of the forest personnel, Coast Guard and local marine police on the coast. The joint patrolling team has managed to restrict the entry of trawlers’ movement in the protected area of Gahirmatha.
Last year as many as 536 carcasses of the Olive Ridley turtles were sighted during their nesting season. The forest department sources said they have set up 16 camps, including 14 onshore and two offshore under the sanctuary to keep a watch on the illegal entry of trawlers.
The endangered Olive Ridley turtles, protected under Schedule 1 of wildlife Protection Act,1972, grow up to 75 centimetres (25 inches) in length. They are found in the tropical regions of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
The turtles are killed when they get entangled in the nets of mechanised fishing vessels during their mating season, which starts from December to January. During the time, they congregate in lakhs for the mass nesting.
According to Mohapatra, during the breeding season, males and females migrate from their feeding ground to the breeding ground. The mating occurs in the offshore waters. The female turtles tend to move towards the beaches in large synchronized concentrations. They lay their eggs at midnight in 45 centimetres pits which they dig by their rear flappers. After laying the eggs in the pits, the female turtles cover the nests with sand and return to the sea in a zigzag manner to confuse predators about the location of the nests.
The endangered species rarely turn up in such large numbers anywhere in the earth. The female turtles lay 120 to 150 eggs at one go. Hatchlings emerge from these eggs after 45-60 days and find their way to the sea creating a cacophony. It is one of Nature’s rare phenomena, where babies grow without their mother. According to the DFO, the endangered species’ mortality rate is so high that one egg out of every 1,000 hatches.
The Odisha Government has imposed a seven month’s fishing ban from November 1 to May 31, 2012 under the Odisha Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1982 and Odisha Marine Fishing Rules, 1983 to protect the endangered turtles at Gahirmatha. In last turtle nesting season, about 5.20 lakh sea turtles had arrived on the sandy beach in two phases for laying eggs, said sources.
