Sushree Mohanty
The Orissa High Court created a three-member committee on February 26, 2021, which will present a report on the preservation of ocean turtles in the Gahirmatha sanctuary for marine animals.
The said action by the Court followed a report on Down to Earth which claimed that 800 Olive Ridley turtles have died since the beginning of this year because of carelessness and negligence of the state’s forest and fisheries division.
The court took suo moto cognizance of the matter and documented a case.
The Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary which is situated in the Kendrapara district of Odisha is the world’s biggest rookery of ocean turtles.
The two-judge bench comprising of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice BP Routray instructed the panel to present a report proposing how the turtles can be protected and the death rate could be minimized after reviewing the two rookeries – Gahirmatha and Rushikulya and communicating with the local fishermen or residents.
The board includes Kartik Shankar, an ocean turtle scientist of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, Sushant Nanda, Director for the Environment for the state forest organization, and lawyer Mohit Agarwal.
The panel is set to visit Gahirmatha and Rushikulya seashores to examine the turtle preservation work and progress in forest, fisheries, and associated divisions.
The matter is listed for further hearing on March 15, 2021.
They will counsel fishermen, residents, and others engaged with the preservation and insurance of natural diversity in the regions and confirm compliance with the instructions given by the state government and the court.
Pravat Kumar Muduli, Additional Government Advocate of Orissa High Court stated that in addition to investigation and counseling, the panel will present a report to the high court on March 10, 2021.
The court’s notification has also instructed the experts to assist the individuals of the committee during their visit.
The divisional forest official of the mangrove division (wildlife), documented an affidavit as per the order of the High Court on February 26.
The golden sands of the Nasi-1 and Nasi-2 islands inside the reserve acts as a flourishing territory for the Olive Ridley turtles that come out of the ocean at night to lay their eggs.
The reptiles, which follow their sources to the Jurassic age, swim across the ocean to the world’s biggest congregation on the Odisha coast between November and May.
In 1997, the State Government proclaimed Gahirmatha a marine safe-haven and restricted any type of fishing or hunting activities for a specific period to save the endangered species.
The Odisha Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1982 restricts fishing boats to be present within 20 kilometers of the coast inside the haven, yet this rule is often disregarded and breached.
Accordingly, the turtles get entwined in the nets and subsequently die.
The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court on the insurance of turtles had issued notifications to the state government in 2004 to preserve and protect the ocean turtles from the assault of fishing vessels working illegally along the Odisha coast.