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Marine Turtle Newsletter 61:5-6, © 1993

Olive Ridleys Threatened in India: Letters Needed

Harry Andrews
Centre for Herpetology, Madras Crocodile Bank, Post Bag No. 4
Mamallapuram - 603 104, T.N., South India

Situated on India's eastern coast, some 200 km from the city of Bhubaneshwar, Bhitarkanika has the second largest nesting population of olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) in the world. In March 1991, 610,000 adult females came ashore to nest over a period of seven days. In the late January arribada (mass nesting event), 322,000 turtles were counted. Emerging hatchlings, the result of a previous arribada, numbered about 3.5 million. Their main nesting site is only 3 km in length and is a narrow, sandy island off the coast. It is a breathtaking sight to see thousands and thousands of these giant turtles sparkling in the moonlight as they heave out of the sea and clamber on to the beach. Beneath them -- and being crushed in tens of thousands in their wake -- are tiny hatchlings heading in the opposite direction to reach the sea.

The area is crossed by a network of rivers and has extensive tracts of mangrove. It has survived severe cyclones and a huge increase in fishing activity. At present, the biggest conservation problem is trawlers using plastic gill nets that can be 2 km long. Turtles drown after being caught in the nets, others are fatally injured by propellers and some are clubbed to death by fishermen safeguarding their nets. The turtles spend more than six months each year feeding and breeding off the coastline at Bhitarkanika. Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) turtles also occur here and the 672 km² Sanctuary is home to a large population of saltwater crocodiles, king cobras, pythons, three species of water monitors, a huge heronry, nesting white breasted sea-eagles, six species of kingfishers, and numerous other animals.

Now the very existence of this global treasure is seriously threatened by the construction of an enormous jetty and fishery complex. As recently reported in The Telegraph (Calcutta, India, 29 December 1992), the proposed Rs. 84-lakh fish landing jetty, for which a "Bhoomipuja" was performed with much fanfare, will be a grave threat to the Bhitarkanika Sanctuary famous for its crocodiles, deer and birds. The seashore Sanctuary is situated only 13 km from the proposed jetty. Also under threat is the Gahirmatha sea turtle nesting area, 10 km from the proposed jetty. The jetty is to be completed in a year and a half and will anchor more than 500 mechanized boats which will land 50 tonnes of fish every day. Sources point out that this large-scale fishing operation is bound to disturb the ecological balance of the region. The Bhitarkanika Sanctuary has already suffered a lot due to the ever-increasing human settlements in nearby villages.

We will be very grateful if all readers of the Marine Turtle Newsletter will write letters, preferably on formal letterhead stationery, to the Government of India and the State Government of Orissa to motivate them to continue to protect Bhitarkanika Sanctuary and to reconsider their plans for placement of the jetty. Thank you!