The Hindu : No let-up in Olive Ridley killings

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 08, 2003

National

National

No let-up in Olive Ridley killings

By Prafulla Das

BHUBANESWAR JAN. 7 . A blood bath is on again along the Orissa coast. As yet another nesting season of the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles gets underway, an increasing number of turtles are washing up on the State's shores — killed by nets of mechanised fishing boats.

According to the latest estimates by the activists of Operation Kachchapa, a non-governmental turtle conservation project, the death toll has already crossed 3,500.

Despite tall claims by the authorities, the ground situation continues to be hopeless and the turtles are falling prey every day to fishing in flagrant violation of the Orissa Marine Fisheries Regulation Act, 1982.

The high death toll is largely due to lax patrolling by the administration to prevent illegal trawling in areas where turtles congregate for breeding, said Biswajit Mohanty of Operation Kachchapa.

Only the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary area, which is being patrolled by the Coast Guards and the State Government's Forest Department, appears to be relatively better off.

As many as 44 fishing boats have been seized here by forest officials. Even then, about 700 turtles have been counted dead here.

The remaining areas along the coast are throwing up dead turtles in far greater numbers. Observers of Operation Kachchapa were aghast when they found 358 dead turtles near the Devi river mouth on a single day last week.

A total of 802 Olive Ridleys have died so far near the Devi river mouth.

According to Mr. Mohanty, 12 fishing trawlers were found near the Devi river mouth within the prohibited zone of 5 km from the coast on December 31.

None of the trawlers used the turtle excluder device (TED), which is mandatory under the law.

``Unregulated and illegal fishing is the major cause of turtle deaths in Orissa. The Fisheries Department has issued over 6,000 licences for mechanised fishing vessels in violation of the legal limit of 1,000 for the entire State.

Besides, thousands of mechanised fishing boats from West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Bangladesh also fish illegally in Orissa waters,'' Mr. Mohanty said.

He warned that mass nesting of sea turtles along the State's coast may fail once again this year, as had happened last year, if the turtle congregations at the three major sites — Gahirmatha, Devi river mouth and Rushikulya river mouth — were disturbed by illegal fishing.

Mr. Mohanty alleged that corrupt fisheries officials connived with the trawler operators to ensure that there was no patrolling near the Rushikulya river mouth and Devi river mouth.

``No seizure of errant trawlers have been made at these two places during this season.''

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