India has a long coast of 5,700 km, while Odisha has a coastline of about 480 km extending from Bahuda river mouth in Ganjam district in the south to Bichitrapur (Talashari) in Baleswar district in the north.
The coastline traverses six coastal districts, viz. Baleswar (80 km), Bhadrak (50 km), Kendrapara (68 km), Jagatsinghpur (67 km), Puri (155 km) and Ganjam (60 km). Every stretch of coast is a variety of ecological niches and habitats.
Bhitarkanika mangrove swamp, Chilika lagoon, the coastal wetlands as well as Rushikulya and Bahuda river mouths are the breeding grounds of myriads of animal and plant species. The prominent species these coastal waters contain are crocodile, Olive Ridley sea turtle, dolphin, horse shoe crab, crab, whale, shrimp, fish and mangrove species.
Besides, terrestrial species like hyena, deer, fishing cat, etc are seen on the periphery of the coast. The mangrove belt comprising areas between the Dhamara mouth to Barunei on the coast in Kendrapada district has been notified as the Bhitarkanika Sanctuary (672 sq.km.). Part of this area (145 sq.km) is notified as National Park. This stretch of mangrove is the only area, which is relatively well preserved.
The Bhitarkanika Sanctuary has been designated as a 'Ramsar Site' during the 8th meeting of the contracting parties held at Valencia (Spain) from November 18 to 26, 2002.
In Odisha this is the 2nd Ramsar Site after Chilika lagoon and is one of the 42 such sites in the country.
The mangroves of Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi delta have been considered as a single ecological unit and proposed to be designated as a Biosphere Reserve. The Gahirmatha sanctuary is a part of the Bhitarkanika ecosystem from Nasi Island in the north east to Telanga Muhan (Mahanadi mouth) in the south west that extends over 20 km into the sea.
It has been created to protect the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtle, dolphin, and other marine fauna and flora. Chilika lagoon is a vast salt water wetland spread over about 1,100 sq km in the districts of Puri, Ganjam and Khurdha.
The lagoon is a Ramsar site since 1981 under the conservation of wetlands of international importance as water fowl habitat. The Nalban Island spread over about 16 sq km is a sanctuary inside Chilika lagoon where the migratory bird density is high in winter.
Chilika and Bhitarkanika are the ideal sites of resident and migratory winged guests. Migratory birds fly thousands of kilo meters to Chilika and Bhitarkanika to escape the harsh winter in Siberia, Afghanistan, Iraq, northern Asia and some central European countries.
In 2019 around 10.47 lakh birds were counted at the Chilika lagoon. A record number of 1,242,826 birds of 190 different species had visited the lagoon during winter this year (2020-21). These included 1,204,351 migratory birds of 111 species, in addition to 38,475 resident birds of 79 species. As many as 121 types of bird species including different types of geese, ducks, gulls, terns, skimmers etc with a population of 1,36,092 thronged Bhitarkanika National Park in the current year, according to news reports.
The Odisha coast has a special significance as the nesting sites of Olive Ridley sea turtle and horseshoe crab. Both are listed as Vulnerable under IUCN. The turtle is listed in Appendix-I of CITES.
In the 1990s, the Wildlife Institute of India studies recorded between 5,000 and 13,000 dead turtles along the Odisha coast each year. The current mortality continues at the rate of about 4,000 to 7,000 per year.
The mortality is attributed mainly to the trawling operations in the sea. Many turtles get caught in the fishing net of the trawlers and suffocate. Some are also injured by the propellers of the vessel.
The Orissa High Court in a 1998 order had mandated the use of Turtle Excluder Device (TED) on trawlers. But the device has been used more as an exception than as a rule because the fishermen complain of high catch loss.
In a recent High Court direction on March 16, 2021 the Odisha Government is obliged to instal transponders in all mechanized fishing vessels to track their movements and save Olive Ridley sea turtles from fishing nets. In January about 800 Olive Ridley turtles died in Odisha coast. There are reports of death and injury of sea turtles in Gahirmatha and Rushikulya mouth.
It is essential to invest in the preservation of the delicate marine ecosystems such as the nesting sites of the endangered Olive Ridley turtle and mangrove ecosystems while developing novel approaches using marine biotechnology.
Horseshoe crab is listed in Schedule-IV of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.The horseshoe crabs are marine and brackish water arthropods of the family Limulidae. Their popular name is a misnomer, as they are not true crabs, nor even crustaceans, but a different order of arthropod.
They generally live in and around shallow coastal waters on soft, sandy or muddy bottoms and tend to spawn in the intertidal zone at spring high tides. The colour of its blood is white and when it comes in contact with air, it turns blue due to presence of copper in hemocyanin that carries oxygen through the blood.
Horseshoe crabs contain amebocytes which is used to make Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL). LAL is used for the detection of bacterial endo-toxins in medical applications.
There is a high demand for the blood, the harvest of which involves collecting and bleeding the animals, and then releasing them back into the sea. The indiscriminate exploitation of horseshoe crabs for various commercial purposes has resulted in the significant global decline of this innocent creature.
Environmental degradation and destruction of breeding grounds are also reasons behind their diminishing population. In recent years, their population decline has occurred as a consequence of coastal habitat destruction and over harvesting.
Their origin is traced to 244 million years back; hence, horseshoe crabs are considered living fossils. In an effort to save this endangered species from extinction, the Department of Biotechnology, Fakir Mohan University, Baleswar has been releasing them into the sea under Sea Ranching of Horseshoe Project launched in January 2017.
The scientists are resorting to artificial insemination and incubation of fertilized eggs and larvae before releasing them in the sea to replenish the marine species in the region. The horseshoe crabs can reverse osteoporosis, diabetes, cancerous cells and can heal a damaged heart.
Along the coast of Odisha, the horseshoe crabs are abundantly found migrating to breed regularly. The trawlers are supposed to fish beyond 5 km as per the Odisha Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1982, and beyond 20 km from the coast in the marine sanctuary. But they fish near the shore resulting in the deaths of horseshoe crabs.
It is illegal to catch or kill horseshoe crabs under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. But unregulated fishing activities along the coast and unawareness among local fishermen about the crab’s economic importance are leading to their declining population.
Recently, the scientists had found around 500 crab carcasses in Baleswar district. While the horseshoe crabs were found in large numbers across the coast earlier, now it is limited to pockets like Balaramgadi, Chandipur beach, Khandia estuary of Balasore district; and Eakakula, Madali and Hukitola beach in Kendrapara district. On 25th February 2021 at Sunapur coast of Chikiti Block in Ganjam District an injured blue wheel shark was found.
There are legal provisions like Environment (Protection) Act 1986, Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, Coastal Regulation Zone, Coastal Zone Management Authority and so many others. What is lacking is a strong political will, enforcement of legal provisions, people’s awareness.
Sustainable Development Goal-14 stresses on ‘Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development’. The theme of World Environment Day 2021 is ‘Ecosystem Restoration’, and the focus on resetting our relation with nature. The global host is Pakistan.
(Dr Patro is president, Orissa Environmental Society, snpatro11@gmail.com, 09437190420)