Lack of patronage among the fisheries department officials to conserve the Olive Ridley Turtles has posed a major threat for its survival along the coastline of Krishna district. The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red Data listed the Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys Olivacea), as ‘Vulnerable’.
Though the wildlife and fisheries acts made mandatory of installation of Turtle Excluder Device (TED) in the mechanised boats and trawlers for conservation of the turtles, the fisheries officials remain silent on putting pressure on the boat operators to adopt the device. However, lack of awareness and will among the boat operators to prefer the TED have added woes for survival of the Olive Ridley Turtles during the ongoing nesting season.
At least a few dozens of Olive Ridley Turtles were found dead near the sea entrance point from the Gilakaladindi habour, from where around 200 boats are being operated. “We normally throw the dead turtles on the coast. We mostly prefer to release them alive whenever we spot them trapped in our nets”, a boat operator told The Hindu on a condition of anonymity.
The turtles sighted dead near the harbour can be weighed between 10 to 15 kgs each. Of them around 200 mechanised boats under the jurisdiction of the Gilakaladindi habour no boat was equipped with the TED device. Several boat operators who spoke to The Hindu did not heard about the device and its use. The Wildlife Management Division of the Forest Department has collected nearly 27,000 Olive Ridley Turtle eggs in the last season alone along the strategic stretch of coastline including surroundings of the Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary.
Ironically, the thriving fishing activity along the Krishna coastline without addressing the safety measures for Olive Ridley Conservation is terming an uncertainty for nesting of the turtles. “Our repeated appeals to the AP Fisheries department officials have fallen deaf ear to conserve the turtles through usage of TED. It’s sad to note sharp rise in the mortality rate of the turtles along the Andhra coast”, World Wide Fund for Nature AP Director Farida Tampal told The Hindu.
