Chennai, Jan 29. (PTI): With the onset of the nesting season of Olive Ridley Turtles, ecologists have sought a ban on trawlers to curb mortality of the endangered species not only in Orissa but also other coastal States falling in their migratory path.
"The coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra and Goa fall under their migratory path, besides serving as nesting grounds," says wildlife and conservation filmmaker Shekar Dattatri.
The turtles are caught in the trawl and gill nets and get killed while trying to migrate from the deep sea to the nesting grounds in Orissa or other coasts.
The Governments' role in checking the huge mortality rate is practically nil in States other than Orissa, he adds.
"The activities of turtle conservation groups in these States are also limited to a few nesting grounds," he says adding there has been no concerted efforts to ascertain the death rates or nesting population of turtles on these coasts.
However, the figures available with individual groups indicate that a large number of turtles die along these coasts every year, he adds.
According to Payal Narain of Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, during every migratory season between November and March, an average of 100 dead turtles were found in the six km-long coastal stretch in Chennai under their surveillance.
Supraja Dharini of Chennai-based Tree Foundation says during last year's nesting season -- between January and March -- in a 13 km stretch along the city coast, around 75 turtles were found dead.
The numbers show a steady progression from 40 in 2002, Dattatri adds.
"Apart from such small figures here and there, no one has the real data regarding the number of dead turtles washing ashore along the long coastal stretches of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Maharashtra," says Dattatri.
"If any State Government is making some efforts to curb the mortality of olive ridleys, that is only Orissa, considered one of the major nesting grounds in the world," he adds.
In Orissa's Gahirmata, Devi and Rushikulya areas with the highest concentration of nesting grounds, the Government has banned trawling in shallow waters during the nesting season.
The incidental mortality by getting caught in trawl nets and gill nets was first reported in Orissa in 1980s. It increased from a few thousands each year and by mid-90s, the numbers rose to around 15,000. Since then the mortality rates have not declined significantly, says Narain.
According to studies, more than 70 per cent of adult turtle deaths occur when caught in trawl nets and gill nets. The turtles, which have to come up to water surface to breathe at least once in 40 minutes, drown after being caught in the nets for a long time.
"Though trawling within 15 km off the coast is not allowed, there is no sustained enforcement mechanism," says Dattatri.
The groups have been demanding patrolling by Coast Guard with the help of Forest and Fisheries Departments. But the State Governments are not much concerned about the conservation of the endangered species, they say.
"We have also been demanding the State Governments to make the use of Turtle Eviction Device (TED) in the trawl nets mandatory," says Narain.
In the absence of enforcement, the fishermen are reluctant to attach the device to their nets. They fear that it will lessen the quantum of their catch, says Dharini.
Countries like Mexico, Costa Rica and the US, which are also among the major nesting grounds of the endangered turtles, have succeeded in bringing down the mortality rates by enforcing strict ban on trawling during the breeding and nesting season, systematic patrolling and by involvement of the fishing communities, she says.
The conservationists advocate for a Government-NGO joint initiative to save the olive ridleys, which would otherwise vanish from the Indian coasts.
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