Orissa bans fishing near turtle nesting sites
November 1st, 2010 - 1:40 pm ICT by IANSBhubaneswar, Nov 1 (IANS) Orissa Monday imposed a seven-month fishing ban along 120 km of the state’s 480 km coastline to protect tens of thousands of Olive Ridley turtles, which coming to the beaches for mass nesting every winter.
The state government has directed the trawlers and boatmen not to carry out any fishing activity within 20 km of the coast during the ban, which will be effective till May 31, a senior official of the state wildlife department told IANS.
More than half a million Olive Ridley turtles arrive and congregate in the shallow coastal waters of Orissa in October-November and nest between December and March. Most hatchlings emerge by May.
The state has three nesting sites. These are the Gahirmatha beach in Kendrapada district, the Devi river mouth in Puri district and Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district.
The Gahirmatha turtle sanctuary is one of the world’s largest turtle nesting sites, where most turtles nest every year.
“The turtles are set to congregate in shallow coastal waters any time now. The ban has been imposed so that no turtle gets killed,” he said.
Like tigers and elephants, Olive Ridley turtles are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Trapping, killing or selling of the species could result in a maximum of seven years’ imprisonment.
Officials say turtle mortality has come down over the past years due to various conservation measures.
Biswajit Mohanty, coordinator of the turtle conservation group Operation Kachhapa, however, said the measures taken to protect the turtles were not enough.
At least 1.5 lakh turtles have been killed, mostly by mechanised fishing trawlers and gill netters in the past 15 years, he told IANS. “The government needs to do more to protect them,” he said.
- Orissa bans fishing near turtle nesting sites - Nov 01, 2011
- As rare Olive Ridleys mate, Orissa mounts vigil - Dec 21, 2010
- Orissa sets up camps to protect nesting turtles - Oct 28, 2010
- 50,000 endangered turtles nest in Odisha's Rushikulya beach - Mar 01, 2012
- 170,000 Olive Ridley turtles lay eggs in Orissa's Gahirmatha - Mar 06, 2010
- 10 held for fishing near turtle nesting site - Jan 08, 2011
- Turtle helps save its namesake species - Jun 06, 2012
- 60 dead turtles wash up on Orissa beach - Nov 25, 2009
- Olive Ridleys may delay mass nesting at Odisha beach - Feb 03, 2012
- Wildlife institute to monitor Olive Ridley Turtles in Orissa - Jun 09, 2010
- Olive Ridley turtles begin nesting at second Orissa beach - Mar 15, 2010
- 1,000 endangered turtles found dead in Orissa beach - Jan 27, 2010
- Sunken ship could threaten Olive Ridleys in Orissa - Sep 11, 2009
- Five arrested for fishing in marine sanctuary - Feb 21, 2010
- Eight Orissa men held for fishing at turtle nesting site - Nov 10, 2009
Tags: boatmen, conservation group, conservation measures, elephants, fishing trawlers, gill netters, half a million, hatchlings, imprisonment, nov 1, olive ridley turtles, orissa, puri district, river mouth, shallow coastal waters, state wildlife department, turtle conservation, turtle sanctuary, turtles, wildlife protection act