Ban On Fishing To Protect Olive Ridley Sea Turtles

With the nesting season of endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles nearing, Odisha Forest department has imposed a seven-month fishing ban from today along the coasts where the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles arrive every year during winter for mass nesting. With the onset of winter, the state government clamped fishing restrictions from November 1 to May 32 to protect the endangered species along Puri coast and Gahirmatha marine sanctuary. The restriction has been imposed as per Odisha Marine Fishing Act (OMFA).Trawlers and fishermen have been directed not to fish within 20 km from coastline in the turtle nesting sites.  Similarly, 15 turtle protection camps, including three offshore camps, at Aagaranasi, Barunei and Babubali islands have been erected to protect turtles in Gahirmatha marine sanctuary. Odisha coast is considered the only place apart from Costa Rica to witness mass nesting by Olive Ridleys. Between five lakh and 10 lakh turtles come to the state every year for mass nesting.

About  olive ridley turtle: This turtle is named for the generally greenish color of its skin and shell. Olive ridleys are found only in warmer waters, including the southern Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.. Olive  ridleys are among smallest of the sea turtles, weighing up to 100 pounds (45 kilograms) and reaching only about 2 feet (65 centimeters) in shell length. These turtles are solitary, preferring the open ocean. They migrate hundreds or even thousands of miles every year, and come together as a group only once a year for the arribada, when females return to the beaches where they hatched and lumber onshore, sometimes in the thousands, to nest. Olive ridleys have nesting sites all over the world, on tropical and subtropical beaches. During nesting, they use the wind and the tide to help them reach the beach. Females lay about a hundred eggs, but may nest up to three times a year.The olive ridley is mostly carnivorous, feeding on such creatures as jellyfish, snails, crabs, and shrimp. They will occasionally eat algae and seaweed as well.

Though the olive ridley is widely considered the most abundant of the marine turtles, by all estimates, it is in trouble. Rough estimates put the worldwide population of nesting females at about 800,000, but its numbers, particularly in the western Atlantic, have declined precipitously. With the nesting season of endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles nearing, Odisha Forest department has imposed a seven-month fishing ban from today along the coasts where the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles arrive every year during winter for mass nesting.Many governments have protections for olive ridleys, but still, eggs are taken and nesting females are slaughtered for their meat and skin. Fishing nets also take a large toll, frequently snagging and drowning these turtles

By: Vishal