Carcasses of over 150 Olive Ridley Turtles and a bottlenose dolphin washed ashore on the Puri beach were recovered by Forest Department officials here on Wednesday, a top official said.
Experts believe that the turtles might have been killed after being hit by illegally operating trawlers in the sea, according to reports.
“We suspect that the turtles were killed after being hit by the fishing trawlers in the sea,” said Sarat Chandra Behera, an official of the Puri-Balukhand forest range, adding that the carcasses have been sent for post-mortem.
The turtles in large number come to Gahirmatha, the
mouth of rivers Devi and Rushikulya on Odisha coast, for annual nesting, he said.
Though there is prohibition on fishing within a distance of 20 km from the beach in these three places, trawler operators undertake fishing illegally there, Behera said.
“We have to first check the reason behind deaths of turtles in such a high number. We will direct the agencies concerned to look into the matter and take necessary action,” Puri Collector Arvind Agarwal said.
Recently, scores of whales were washed ashore to the Chennai beach. Despite all efforts by fishermen, at least 45 of them died.
Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik said, “We have never seen so many dead turtles on the Puri beach in the recent past. Everyone, including the authorities, should do something about it.”
Puri Collector Aravind Agrawal said, “We will need to find the reason behind the deaths of such a large number of turtles. The concerned authorities, the Forest Department and marine police will be asked to look into the matter. We will take necessary steps to find a solution to the problem.”