Trawlers dadagiri leaves turtles safety at bay

BHUBANESWAR: Like every year endangered Olive Ridley turtles arrive at the Rushikulya rookery for mass nesting as it starts from December first week to January last week. For their protection and safety mate, Government through NGOs and concerned departments has taken many steps like ban on illegal entry of fishing trawlers during the mating season. But the carcasses of more than hundred of turtles found on the beach from Rushikulya mouth to Prayagi village during the days certainly put number of questions on their safety as it’s the mating season of Olive Ridley.

According to the forest officials, the turtles face many obstacles while they come to the shore for nesting. On the way to rookery some of them die. "Some deaths were natural, while some others death occurred due to the fishing trawlers in deep sea," said Divisional Forest Officer, Berhampur AK Jena.

The officials are claiming that they are strictly checking the illegal entry of fishing trawlers in the mating area of the turtles through regular sea patrolling. According to the notification the fishing trawlers should not enter within 10 km range from the coastline, the notified mass nesting area, but it is seen that most of them are violating the norm and fishing as close as 1 km.

According to the secretary of Rushikulya Sea Turtle Protection Committee (RSTPC) Rabindranath Sahu, the trawlers are strictly not following the rules and allegedly they are not using the Turtle Excluder Device (TED) which excludes the turtles from the fishing net like excluding of small fishes and shrimps. But it is seen that no one use this device though it was distributed by the Government. “While the movement of turtles in the water, they become prey to the gill nets of the trawlers due to recklessness of the trawler owners,” said Sahu to The Pioneer.

Trawler’s dadagiri is not new for us. Recently 12 traditional fishermen were reportedly injured by the trawlers. As claimed by the fishermen, while they were busy in catching fishes, 5 trawlers attacked 6 boats of traditional fishermen for several times, as a result two boats of A. Danaya and A. Samaya of Nolia Nuagaon capsized. Among the 12 injured, two of them were severely injured by the accident.

“A safety environment is needed for the congregation and mass nesting of the Olive Ridley, for which the vital role of forest officials along with local villagers is need of the hour. Sea-patrolling should be tightened in the nesting zones of Gahirmatha, Devi river mouth and Gokhurkuda sea-mouth otherwise the trawlers dadagiri may cause problem for the endangered Olive Ridley,” added Sahu.