Forest personnel of the Bhitarkanika National Park on Tuesday urged marine fishermen to provide them support in the campaign to check deaths of endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles in the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary area.
The forest officials held an awareness meeting with them at the Talachua jetty for the purpose.
Olive Ridley sea turtles visit the coast at Gahirmatha in large numbers for nesting and breeding. For this, the authorities impose a trawler fishing ban in the sanctuary for seven months starting November 1.
As many as 400 marine fishermen of Talachua, Rangani and other coastal pockets of Rajnagar block attended the meeting addressed by Kendrapada SP Satish Kumar Gajavhiye and Rajnagar DFO Kedar Kumar Swain, informed Kanika Forest Ranger Akhaya Kumar Nayak.
The two officers told the fishermen that Olive Ridleys come to Gahiramatha as it is the largest mass nesting site for them in the whole world.
“This area too is a potential breeding and feeding ground for marine fishes. The Olive Ridley sea turtles’ long stay help marine fish grow their numbers. The turtles eat jelly fishes, which otherwise eat fish lets. Thus, marine fish production rises in the area,” officials told the fishermen.
Notably, big trawlers, which illegally venture into the sea to catch fish, have been killing the Olive Ridleys, which are protected under the Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.