Saving the turtle from a soup

The notification, which came on September 27 following an international campaign to save the endangered turtles, encompasses an area of 1435 sq km on the Bay of Bengal off the Orissa coast. The notification seeks to put an end to the economic exploitation of the area up to 10 km into the sea from south of the Dhamra fishing harbour in Balasore district to north of the Paradip port.

What was an environmental issue soon assumed the contours of a trade dispute. The Union Commerce Ministry was even forced to file a case, along with Thailand, with the World Trade Organisation WTO against the proposed US embargo on shrimp imports from countries that do not require their fishermen to protect endangered sea turtles by using nets fitted with turtle exclusion devices TEDs. Meanwhile, the World Wide Fund for Nature WWF also jumped into the fray, backing the US threat of banning the import of turtle-threatening shrimps. In a recent report to the WTO, it accused countries like India, Thailand, Pakistan and others of using the trade body to evade their conservation responsibilities.

In 1993, the State Government responded to the mounting pressure by banning fishing within a 20-km radius off the Gahirmatha coast for a specific period every year, pending the declaration of the marine sanctuary. It also empowered the forest department officials to enact the Orissa Marine Fishing Regulation Act 1981 and the officials of the Fisheries Department were declared honorary wildlife wardens to deal with offences under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. But these moves did not prove effective. In fact, since 1985, the Forest Department has been repeatedly submitting that unless Gahirmatha is declared a marine sanctuary, it would be difficult to protect the turtles.

Though the turtles had been visiting this beach for centuries, the phenomenon came under the scrutiny of the scientific world only in 1974. The very next year the Orissa Government declared Bhitarkanika, the nesting habitat of these sea turtles, a wildlife sanctuary. But the measure proved inadequate in the face of large-scale fishing activities in the area with the advent of mechanised trawlers. Developmental activities around the breeding grounds only made matters worse. There was the added problem of rampant poaching, since turtle flesh is considered a great delicacy.

To add insult to injury, the lack of proper vigilance along the coastline led to wild pigs and dogs destroying the eggs. So high was the rate of destruction that researchers estimate that only four or five hatchlings out of some 1,000 eggs survive.

These ecological disturbances, both on land and at sea, forced the turtles to change their nesting sites several times in the recent past. They have been moving to more isolated regions north of Gahirmatha to avoid predators. But with very little being done to check fishing activities and poaching, they were slowly being driven toward extinction. The high rate of mortality before nesting also contributed to the decline in the number of turtles arriving in Orissa every year.

The Government moves to ban fishing during specified time spans did not work for the simple reason that while the Olive Ridley turtles come twice a year to this area 8212; in January and March 8212; this also happens to be the fishing season.

According to Dr Chandra Sekhar Kar, a Bhubaneshwar-based researcher on the Olive Ridley turtle, on an average 5,000 to 6,000 adult turtles are found dead each year during the season and the Gahirmatha coast invariably accounts for most of the deaths.

But the question of course is, will the notification achieve what it seeks to do? The Chief Wildlife Warden of the state Saroj Kumar Patnaik feels it will. Says he: 8220;The idea is to create an awareness among the people to protect these innocent creatures.8221; According to him the declaration regarding the marine sanctuary was a major achievement for the State Forest Department which has been crying itself hoarse over the past several years for more stringent measures against high-tech fishing. But he says the notification is not enough: 8220;The true victory lies in its effective enforcement.8221; The modalities are yet to be worked out.

He, however, feels that the implementation of the notification will not pose a big problem. The Forest Department and the Coast Guard will work in tandem to see that trawler operators obey the new law. While the Coast Guard will have three additional ground camps along the Orissa coast and press smaller vessels into duty, the Forest Department is trying to acquire a sea-worthy boat for its own officials.

What is worrying the forest department is the sizeable presence of unregistered mechanised boats, operating from outside the state, which come and fish off the Gahirmatha coast. The number of registered mechanised boats operating in the area would not exceed a 1,000, but it is difficult to keep track of those operating from other states. But while the wildlife lobby in the state are happy over the notification, it has kicked up a furore in fishing circles. The Trawler Owners8217; Association has taken strong exception to it on the grounds that it would jeopardise the future of thousands. They are not averse to fixing TEDs, which are in any case inexpensive, costing only Rs 3,000, but worry that their catch would get considerably depleted once the device is fitted to the nets.

The Orissa Government must remain sensitive to the plight of the local fisherfolk and provide the necessary safety net for those faced with a loss of income as a result of the notification. In its haste to protect the turtle, it cannot afford to throw its fishermen into the sea.