Kendrapara: Experts studying Olive Ridley turtles and dolphins have underscored the need for using drone cameras to keep a watch on the nesting places of turtles and activities harming the marine creatures.
Reports said, the state forest and environment department had conducted dolphin census in Bhitarkanika marine area recently. Altogether, 540 dolphins were found in the area.
The number is 37 percent more than that of the preceding year. Among them were 15 spinner dolphins and 135 bottleneck dolphins.
Interestingly, only 22 bottleneck dolphins were sighted during the count in 2021 while their number has gone up five times more than the previous count.
The area is also an ideal home for endangered Olive Ridley turtles.
However, several factors have posed threats to this endangered marine species throughout their life cycle – starting from migration, mating to nesting and return of baby turtles to the sea.
Every year, lakhs of turtles throng Gahirmatha marine sanctuary for breeding. Experts and environmentalists were of the view that safety of these sea creatures should be the topmost priority of the department.
“Aerial surveillance on the nesting sites, their movements, dangers during migration, research on coastal erosion can be done with help of drones. Data collected during surveillance can be used in finding out effective solutions,” they added.
Secretary of Gahirmatha Samudrika Kainchha O Hentalabana Surakhya Samiti Hemant Kumar Rout, its vice president Prabhuprasad Mohapatra, president of Jana Adhikar Abhijan Bhubanmohan Jena, lecturer Khitish Kumar Singh and Dr PN Gourang emphasised that the population of marine species like dolphins and Olive Ridley turtles is declining worldwide, but their number is increasing in Gahirmatha area, spreading over 27 square miles in the sea.
Over 5 lakh turtles have laid eggs this season, it was said. However, thousands of turtle eggs have been damaged due to the lashing sea waves at the nesting place of Nasi-II.
Coastal erosion is one of the factors affecting nesting of the turtles here, they said. Moreover, thousands of turtles have to lose their lives for various reasons, but the cause of deaths is not being monitored, they lamented.
They suggested that there is a need for making use of high tech drones to keep watch on the activities and movement of the turtles and dolphins as well.
DFO JD Pati said that currently there is no provision of placing the vast marine area under surveillance of drone cameras, but this proposal may be considered for the next year.
PNN