The Odisha Fisheries department has enforced a seven-month fishing ban at three river mouth areas of the State for the next seven months in order to protect the Olive Ridley sea turtles.The order came into force from today and will continue till May 31, 2024.
The river mouths where fishing has been banned are:
Under the government’s directive, all forms of fishing activities have been strictly prohibited within a 20-kilometer radius from the coast as well as buffer zones close to the river mouths.
To ensure the enforcement of the fishing ban, the Fisheries Department has laid out specific guidelines. These restricted areas will be patrolled throughout the ban period, and a compliance report will be compiled by the respective Additional Fisheries Officers (Marine).
Furthermore, the Fisheries Department has devised plans to organize periodic awareness camps involving key stakeholders, including Forest and Marine Police officials. When feasible, the Coast Guard will also contribute by educating fishermen about the fishing ban, ensuring that the measures put in place for the protection of Olive Ridley turtles are effectively implemented.
Olive ridley turtles — one of the species of the sea turtle under the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature — turn up in millions for mass nesting along the Odisha coast every year. The reptiles lay eggs 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 and the hatchlings, after emerging from these eggs in a span of 45 to 60 days, travel to the sea. They grow up without their mothers.
Reports suggest that out of every 1,000 hatchlings that enter the sea, only one manages to reach adulthood, according to Odisha Tourism.