Other States - Orissa   

Disquiet over death of Olive Ridleys

Staff Reporter

Fishermen believe that the reptile is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu!

Photo: Lingaraj Panda

SHOCKING SIGHT: The carcass of an Olive Ridley turtle near Garampeta.

BERHAMPUR: Traditional marine fishermen are worried over the carcasses of Olive Ridley turtles floating up to the Orissa coast as their elders believe that death of turtles in sea is an sign of low fish yield in the coming months.

S. Madheya, 95, of Garampeta village of Ganjam district says: "Our forefathers believed that the turtles eat the insects that kill the fish seed in the sea. We respect the turtles as incarnations of Lord Vishnu."

Illegal fishing

President of the Ganjam district traditional marine fishermen's union Raja Rao also confirms the belief. He attributes the death of turtles to the alleged illegal entry of trawlers from Andhra Pradesh into the Orissa coast during night.

The Rushikulya mouth coast in Ganjam district, the Devi mouth coast in Puri district and the Gahiramatha estuary in Bhadrak district are major nesting places of the Olive Ridleys in the world. According to environmental activists like Rabindra Sahu, who are involved in the conservation of Olive Ridleys, the Rushikulay mouth coast has been the safest zone for the turtles for mating and nesting till date. There are no fishing jetties near the coast, but trawlers not using Turtle Escape Device (TED) kill a few turtles whose carcasses float to the coast.

But the situation is grim at Gahiramatha as the Forest Department has stopped patrolling to protect the turtle-mating zone in the sea from trawlers since one month after forest officials allegedly shot dead fishermen.

TED norm

Heavy fishing using trawlers having no TED continues in the area by commercial fishermen of villages like Satbhaya, Kanpur, Habalikhati, Barunei etc.

As per an assessment, some 7,000 Olive Ridleys died near Gahiramatha in the last one month and the beach stinks with carcasses.

Near the mouth of the Devi, some 500 carcasses of Olive Ridleys have been found this year.

Less than 100 turtles may have died at the Rushikulya coast.

Environmentalists allege that the State Fisheries Department is not enforcing the use of TED by the trawlers though it is mandatory for trawlers fishing in the sea.

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