With Orissa High Court directing the state government to take concrete steps in a time-bound manner to prevent illegal trawling in the prohibited zone at Devi river mouth, the focus is back on the safety of endangered Olive Ridley turtles. The flagship marine species of the state, Olive Ridleys have been falling prey to illegal fishing activities of motorized fishing craft, especially big trawlers.
The court’s directive came in the wake of a hearing of a PIL on the high mortality rate of Olive Ridley turtles along the Odisha coast, especially the Devi river mouth, one of the three major mass-nesting sites for the endangered species in the state. In order to protect these eco-sensitive creatures, which breed in Odisha’s coastal waters and nest on its beaches, the state government imposes a seven-month ban within a restricted area of the sea near the Dhamra, Devi and Rushikulya river mouths.
The ban remains effective from November to May, the breeding season of the Olive Ridleys which are believed to traverse thousands of miles in the sea to reach Odisha’s coast. The state has three major rookeries of Olive Ridley turtles and the biggest one is located on the Gahirmatha coast. The area has been declared a marine sanctuary by the government in order to protect the turtles. While fishing is completely banned in this sanctuary area round the year, the ban on fishing at Devi and Rushikulya river mouths, which are the two other major rookeries of these turtles, is for a period of seven months and the restriction applies only to an area of 20 kms from the coast.
This is not the first time that the issue has drawn the attention of the courts. Environmental activists had sought the court’s intervention to save Olive Ridleys in the past and concerns over the high mortality rate of these creatures have grown. The biggest culprits are the mechanized fishing craft, especially the trawlers, which kill the turtles in various ways. While a large number of turtles succumb to the propeller blows of the trawlers, some also get choked after getting caught in their gill nets.
Over the years, the government has been trying hard to persuade fishing craft owners to use turtle excluder devices (TEDs) which allows the turtles a safe passage if they get caught in the gill nets. However, fishing boat owners have been reluctant to install these devices because of two reasons: one is the cost involved in their installation; the other is the perception that they pose an impediment to free fishing activity.
On the other hand, trawlers and other mechanized fishing craft have been violating the fishing ban every year in the most brazen manner. Forest guards and officials of the fisheries department make arrests and seize the rogue craft in a routine way during the breeding season of Olive Ridley, but this has failed to stop the violation of the ban. One hopes state authorities will try harder to impose the ban effectively in the wake of the court’s directive.
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