Bhubaneswar: The Odisha forest department Wednesday said the mass nesting sites of Olive Ridley turtles in the state will remain out of bounds for visitors till the hatchlings are born.
The mass nesting of the turtles is likely to begin in the next few days, three months after the mating season in deep sea, which usually takes place in November-December.
“All the mass nesting sites of Olive Ridley sea turtles shall be closed for visitors from the beginning of the nesting period till the birth of the hatchlings,” an order by the forest department said.
The nesting sites are located at Gahirmatha beach in Kendrapara district, Devi river mouth in Puri and Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district.
The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Sushanta Nanda, in an order said, “It is seen that visitors going to mass nesting sites of Olive Ridley sea turtles for the purpose of observing the phenomena of nesting and hatchling emergence are using bright lights for observation and for photographs/ videography of the turtles.
“In some cases, inappropriate behaviour of visitors are observed. These activities together with crowding of the nesting sites would be disturbing the normal process of turtle nesting and hatchling emergence to great extent,” he said.
The order pointed out that the Olive Ridley sea turtles are protected under Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and these activities come under the definition of ‘hunting’ as per provisions of the Act.
Every year, lakhs of Olive Ridley turtles come to the banks of the mouths of rivers Dhamara, Devi and Rusikulya in Odisha to lay eggs.
The state government had clamped a seven-month-long (November to May) prohibition on sea fishing activities within 20km off the coast to ensure the safety of marine animals such as Olive Ridley turtles during their mating and breeding season.
The state government pays compensation of Rs15,000 to each fisherman during the ban period.
A multi-layered patrolling exercise is carried out during the prohibition period in the Olive Ridley turtle habitat corridors and it involves forest, fisheries and marine police besides Coast Guard personnel, officials said.
To ensure effective patrolling, on-shore and off-shore camps have been set up in the state’s four wildlife divisions of Bhadrak, Rajnagar, Puri and Berhampur, they said.
PTI