Turtles fall in Jelly-trap

By Dhrutikam Mohanty
If you have ever taken a traveling spree to any known sea beaches of Orissa like Puri or Konark, you must have spotted blackish carcasses of naive turtles laying hear and there on the heart of ever shining golden sands. Now the sea-shores of Orissa has turned into a grave yard for the Olivridleys, categorized as Schedule-I species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, who travels a long way from Pacific Ocean to Orissa Coast only to lay their eggs.
Just two years before dead turtles were not seen in huge numbers in Puri, Konark beaches and Satpada sea mouth. This was mostly restricted to the places like Gahiramatha of Kendrapara and Devi river mouth near Astaranga of Puri district, where the olivridleys used to congregate for breeding. "This new killing trend has made us shaken. We have informed the wildlife authorities earlier, but no steps have been taken so far, "reacts Basant Jena of Pragati environmental Organization. According to a survey by Orissa Wild Life Society, within last fifteen days around 700 turtles were found dead in these areas and this figure crushes 3000 when all the places of the state taken into account.
Why the turtles regularly come to those beaches in large numbers although they are not their breeding and nesting ground? Environmental Researcher Y.Giri Rao answers, “It has been noticed that in Puri-Konark coast line, Jelly Fishes were seen in large scale and olivridleys likes to eat them particularly in reproductive stage. I think, this is one of the major reasons behind turtle migration to this region.”
Then who kills these turtles? Actually, their food habit has turned into a death trap. Jellyfish eater olivridleys become the victim of sharp edged nets of fishing boats. Jellyfish netting is a good source of income for the traditional fishermen as the seafood exporters pay them high prices for it. According to R.Raju, a fisherman, ‘a Chennai based export company gives us Rs 45 per 2 pounds of processed Jellyfish, which is sent to China.’ But the alarming fact is that, those traditional fishermen are using a kind of net, called Alim, that weaved up by a very sharp thread, which is the main cause of turtle death. Biswajeet Mohanty of 'Operation Kachhap' reacts,' in 2004 Supreme Court has prohibited the use of Alim net for fishing in turtle affecting area but the executing agencies have no respect for it. Due to lack of inspection and patrolling the fishing boats are using this turtle killing instrument.' When asked what steps are being taken, DFO of Puri wildlife division Sharat Kumar Mishra replied, ‘new action plan has been prepared and we are taking immediate steps to check such turtle killing in beaches. But infrastructural lacking is a major barrier for us to work efficiently.’But now things are changing a bit. The Coast Guard of India has informed the Government of Orissa about the mass causality of the turtles .V K Lohani, Commandant Coast Guard has brought to the notice of the officials of the Forest & Environment department regarding such killing. Taking serious note of the situation, H S Chahar, Principal Secretary of the Forest and Environment department has directed the Chief Wildlife Warden to take care of the situation. However, increase in turtle mortality rate over the years is a clear indication of lack of enforcement of the legal and policy instruments.