7-month fishing ban to protect Ridleys in Gahirmatha

Kendrapada: The forest department has announced a fishing ban in Kendrapada district’s Gahirmatha marine sanctuary from Nov 1 to May 31 to protect the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles during their mating and nesting season.The turtles will arrive in Nov and the female marine species will lay eggs in March. The forest department has set up 14 turtle protection camps, including four offshore ones at Madali, Sasanipada, Ekakula and Babubali islands.“We have deployed four patrolling boats to prevent illegal fishing and protect turtles in Gahirmatha. Police personnel of marine police stations at Jamboo, Talachua and Tantiapala in Kendrapada district and Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district and Coast Guard in Paradip will help the forest officials to protect turtles,” said Kapilendra Pradhan, forest range officer of Gahirmatha.“Marine fishermen were directed not to go fishing within 20 km of the coastline in the sanctuary areas, which cover 1,435 sq km from Hukitola to Dhamra. Forest officials in 2023 had demarcated the sanctuary areas by putting 14 buoys. In 1997, the govt declared Gahirmatha as a marine sanctuary to protect the turtles. Each winter lakhs of turtles come to the Gahiramatha coast for laying eggs,” added the forest officer.Pradhan further said that the forest department has made it compulsory for fishing trawlers to install turtle excluder device, an escape hatch, in their fishing nets to save turtles from drowning.Earlier this year, 606,933 turtles laid eggs between March 5 and 10, on various islands within Gahirmatha. “Odisha hosts 50% of the world’s Olive Ridley population and 90% of India’s sea turtles,” said Hemant Rout, a turtle researcher.