In February 2009 I was an invited speaker at the Dhamra Port Consultative Technical Workshop in Bhubaneswar, Orissa State, at the behest of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. My topic was how to minimize sea turtle and dredging interactions during the ongoing Dhamra Port construction project in the Dhamra River estuary, on the Bay of Bengal.
A workshop on marine protected areas in India suggested ways
to achieve livelihood-sensitive conservation and management of coastal and fisheries resources.
Thousands of carcasses of Olive Ridley sea turtles are lying at the Satabhaya beach under the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary, one of the largest rookeries of the species, in the ongoing turtle nesting season. Foul odour from dead turtles has polluted the whole of Satabhaya region, said Satabhaya sarpanch Sasmita Das.
The most audible opponents of the Dhamra Port project have been conservation organisations such as Greenpeace, turtle biologists and environmentalists from across the country and beyond.
Olive Ridley protection may finally get a place in the State Budget. The High Power Committee, headed by Chief Secretary Ajit Tripathy, on Saturday decided on creation of a budget head for streamlining conservation. Piecemeal assistance will be a thing of the past.
KENDRAPARA: As IX-month ban on fishing from November 1 to May 31 has been imposed by the State Government to protect the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles in the Gahiramatha marine sanctuary near here.
Trawlers and boatmen were directed not to fish within 20 km from coastline in the sanctuary areas
It used to be one of the most unforgettable sights from the height of the Indian summer: thousands of the world-famous Olive Ridley turtles waddling out of the water to nest and breed on the pristine white sand beaches of Gahirmatha in Orissa on magical, moonlit nights. Not just the Olive Ridleys, most other species of turtle also emerge of their hibernation spanning winters and begin mating and looking for proper nesting places.
Wildlife Lovers and forest officials in Orissa are of the view that the missile tests by the
Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) off the Orissa coast have affected the mass nesting of the Olive Ridley sea turtles.
