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Ridleys Come Ashore, Poachers on the Prowl
RISHIKULYA (Orissa): Conservationists, local residents and wildlife officials kept guard as thousands of endangered Olive Ridley turtles continued to arrive on Rishikulya beach for annual nesting. Every year, as winter rolls around, the endangered Olive Ridleys move in large concentrations to three major nesting sites along the Orissa coast by the Bay of Bengal, one of the world's major nesting grounds, before returning to the sea. Conservationists keeping watch said there was an urgent need to legally protect the area in order to save the species. "Operation Kacchap (Operation Turtle) aims to spread conservation awareness among visitors, school children and villages about the importance of the sea turtle and how their eggs should be protected," said Bishwajeet Mohanty, noted turtle conservationist and Secretary, Operation Kachchap. Mohanty and other members of the project, along with wildlife officials, are marking the nesting turtles to protect them from poachers. "Our volunteers are working here on the beach, helping the forest department in counting the nesting turtles, in handing over brochures and leaflets to visitors and at the same time we are also undertaking to protect the eggs during the next two months when they are going to hatch here," he added. Wildlife officials said over 150,000 turtles had already made their ritual trek to the nesting sites and many more were swimming to the shore to lay fresh eggs. With each turtle laying an estimated 120 eggs, large stretches of the State's Rishikulya coastline are now packed with eggs. Last year, over one million turtles came to the Orissa shores to dig sand pits and lay eggs, the largest concentration being at Gahirmatha beach. In 2000, only 700,000 turtles arrived. In 1997 and 1998, they skipped the annual ritual and there was no mass nesting at all. The Olive Ridley turtle, which can grow up to 75 cm (2.5 feet) in length, is found in tropical regions of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Such large concentrations only occur at a few sites in the world, with Orissa being one of the most important. After the young ones are hatched, the turtles return to the sea and come back a year later to give birth. But if Orissa is the turtles' largest nesting ground, wildlife activists say it is also their biggest graveyard. Though protected under India's Wildlife Protection Act, over 50,000 turtles have either been mangled by fishing trawler propellers or suffocated in fishermen's gill nets in the past five years. The Orissa Government has declared the whole nesting area a marine sanctuary and has banned mechanised trawlers in the State. Besides, it is also urging local fishermen to include turtle excluding devices (TED) in their fishing equipment. But though fishing is restricted around the marine sanctuary, mechanised trawlers move freely scouring the sea-floor within 200 to 300 metres of the sanctuary. The Government has also coaxed local villagers to form turtle conservation committees and protect the turtle eggs from other animals. "Dogs and jackals come and eat up the turtle eggs. The Government requests us, the local people, to protect the mass nesting area and the eggs by putting up fences. But we have not put up any fences yet because till now only 160,000 turtles have come and nested here and mass nesting will carry on for another 3-4 days. There would be at least two to three hundred thousand turtles nesting here," said Rabindra Sahoo, secretray of the local Turtle Conservation Committee.
Environmentalists say that pollution and poachers, who hunt them for
their meat and take their eggs, also take a toll. However, intense policing
has now stopped poaching to a large extent. High tides and exceptionally
strong winds, which often lash the area, also pose a big danger to the
eggs. The large-scale massacre of the Olive Ridley turtles pushes them
to the verge of extinction since those killed are mostly pregnant. The
turtles are vulnerable because of high mortality rates. According to
studies, only one out of every 1,000 hatchlings normally reaches adulthood.
Chilika Lake Dolphins in Danger CHILIKA (Orissa): Unregulated use of mechanised trawlers and unbridled tourism have put dolphins in Asia's largest brackish water lake in India under threat. Lake Chilika, backwaters of Bay of Bengal along the coast of Orissa, is a wildlife sanctuary spreading across 1,100 sq km. The lake is home to some rare flora and fauna. The dolphins are mostly sighted around Satapada-Magarmukha area and occasionally between Kalijai and Balugaon. As per a recent survey by the State forest department, Lake Chilika is home to about 50 to 55 Orcealla Brevirostris or Irrawady river dolphins as they are commonly known. Though unlike in other parts of India the dolphins are not hunted here for their meat, the mechanised fishing trawlers operating in the lake along w*ith tourist boats using the Lombardini engines with 6-foot propellers are wreaking havoc for the dolphins. Forest department officials said 11 dolphins have been killed in 2001-2002 due to the mechanised boats.When the dolphins are sighted, these boats surround them. The panic-stricken animals try to breakout of the cordon, getting injured or killed in the process. "Their population is declining day by day. A lot of fishing activities are going on in Chilika lagoon. The plying of a number of mechanised boats, the increase in the number of boats day by day and the tourist inflow ... a lot of tourists are coming to the wetlands to observe the dolphins and that is posing a major threat to the dolphins. We have been taking steps to protect the rare dolphins," said Sudhakar Kar, research officer and expert, wildlife department, Government of Orissa. Apart from mechanised trawlers, fishing nets also pose a threat to the dolphins at times. Because these are mammals, they have to surface for breathing. So if thay are entangled in the net, they may not be able to come out, said Ajit Patnaik, director, Chilika lake development authority.
The government-run Chilika development authority is currently conducting
dolphin surveys on the lake which spreads across three districts - Khurda,
Puri and Ganjam. The Irrawady dolphins inhabiting lake Chilika usually
range from two to 2.15 metres in length. They have a low rate of breeding
giving birth once after a gestation period of nine months. Apart from
lake Chilika, Irrawady river dolphins are found in Songkhla lake in
Thailand. Due to its endangered status, these dolphins are protected
under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The Irrawady doplhins
are also listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species. -ANI |
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