App to keep vigil on fisherfolk to protect olive ridleys along Odisha coast

Bhubaneswar: Ahead of breeding season for olive ridleys, a mobile application has been developed to keep vigil on movements of fisherfolk to prevent them from entering the sites where the endangered sea turtles congregate for mass nesting along Odisha coast.

“The app will help the fishermen in identifying no-fishing zone and get an alert when they enter the prohibited area for fishing,” informed Odisha Fisheries Secretary R Raghu Prasad at a meeting virtually held on Oct 25.

The State Government has completely banned fishing by motorised vessels or trawlers for seven months from November 1 till May 31 within 20 km from the coast in the river mouths of Dhamra, Devi and Rushikulya.

Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra directed various departments to ensure efforts at the ground level in conservation of the olive ridleys.

He directed all officers engaged in the conservation to download the mobile app trace location of fishing boats at these above sites.

Chairing the virtual meeting of a high-level committee on the conservation of olive ridley, Mohapatra stressed on the need to involve all stakeholders, NGOs and local community in such measures.

He requested the Coast Guard to share input with the State departments about illegal fishing. He also urged the Defence Research and Development Organisation, Dhamra, Gopalpur and Paradip port authorities to follow the black-out practices and light-deeming to save the endangered sea turtles.

The port authorities were asked to provide necessary support for joint patrolling in the sea.

At the meeting, it was decided that nesting activities of olive ridley turtles and thier mortality rate will be monitored through a web portal. The rookeries will be fenced to protect the eggs soon after mass nesting.

As per the action plan for 2021-22, total 66 patrolling camp sites off Odisha coasts will be operated round the clock.

At the meeting, Additional Chief Secretary (Forest) Mona Sharma said that four wildlife divisions — Bhadrak, Rajnagar, Puri and Berhempur — have been equipped with five high-speed boats, 13 trawlers and support boats to foil illegal activities in the sea.

Sea turtles are as significant as other aquatic animals in marine ecosystems. They help maintain the health of coral reefs and sea grass beds.

Olive ridley turtles — one of the species listed as vulnerable under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) — congregate in large numbers at different river mouths along the Odisha coast for mass nesting every year.

The turtles lay eggs mostly at the Gahirmatha beach in Kendrapara district, the Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district and the Devi river mouth in Puri district.

An olive ridley usually lays about 120-150 eggs. The hatchlings come out of eggs in a span of 45-60 days.

[Note: This story is a part of ‘Punascha Pruthibi – One Earth. Unite for It’, an awareness campaign by Sambad Digital.]