Puri: Thousands of Olive Ridley sea turtles that thronged the coast of the sea in the district for breeding have been killed by illegal fishing conducted through trawlers and mechanised boats over the last two months.
Although the district forest department claimed that altogether 1,950 turtles have perished in the last two months, unofficial sources pegged the number in the vicinity of 4,000.
Olive Ridley turtles routinely gather on the coast in the district between the mouth of the Chilika lake to the Devi river estuary every winter. The state government has put in place several restrictions on fishing through trawlers and mechanised boats on the coast from the first week of November to May-end in order to facilitate safe breeding of the turtles.
Forest department officials said the state government has banned fishing through trawlers within 20 km into the sea near the Devi river estuary and prohibited mechanised fishing within 5 km into the sea in other areas. The forest department has set up 12 onshore sea patrolling camps and an offshore one this year to keep a tab on the movement of trawlers.
Two watchers and a forest guard have been deployed at each onshore camp while a patrolling trawler with a few forest guards have been engaged at the offshore camp near the Devi river estuary for strict implementation of the orders to prohibit mechanised fishing.
However, hundreds of trawlers including many operated by fishermen from neighbouring states have been found fishing in the coastal sea daily in violation of the guidelines laid down by the state government. Sources said the Olive Ridley turtles are dying in large numbers after being entangled in the fishing nets.
According to sources in the forest department, forest guards have buried the carcasses of 1,928 sea turtles on the coast in the district in the last two months. As many as 750 carcasses of the turtles were retrieved between January 19 and 21, said sources in the forest department.
A few wildlife watchers, however, claimed that the forest department employees did not bury many turtle carcasses and left them to be devoured by stray dogs and crows. “The number of dead turtles on the coast in the district would have been ascertained to be close to 4,000 if the forest guards had counted each and every turtle carcass,” said a wild life expert.
Puri divisional forest officer (DFO) Chittaranjan Mishra said the officials are doing their best to facilitate safe breeding of the sea turtles.
“We have tightened sea patrolling and our officials have seized eight trawlers and two mechanised boats engaged in illegal fishing in the last few days. Besides, 40 fishermen have been arrested,” added Mishra.
According to official data, forest department officials had retrieved the carcasses of 1,316 Olive Ridley turtles on the coast in the district during the breeding season in 2013-14. The number of turtle carcasses recovered on the coast of the district reached 3,181 in 2014-15. PNN