Dead turtles at Astharang, a nesting zone of Olive Ridleys. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 8: The wildlife officials have stepped up vigil along the coast to ensure a smooth and safe nesting of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles expected in the next two months.

Three patrolling parties have been deployed to keep a watch on the area between Gahirmatha, the most famous turtle rookery in the state, and the Mahanadi. At least two others have been tasked with keeping rogue vessels away from the turtle zone in the Devi and the Rishikulya mouth areas.

According to sources, the patrolling parties, which use sturdy boats, are getting full cooperation from the fisheries department officials who regulate movement of fishing crafts including big trawlers.

With the commencement of the turtle season, a seven-month ban on fishing along a large stretch of the coast was imposed last November.

Moreover, the fishing restrictions remain in force throughout the year in the 1,437sqkm Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary in Kendrapara district.

Divisional forest officer of Rajnagar Manoj Mohapatra said large-scale nesting of the endangered turtles was expected in March or April after the southerly wind starts blowing. “So far, there have been reports of sporadic nesting of turtles in the Devi river mouth area,” he said adding that there was no let up in the security measures.

With the main culprit being rogue trawlers and mechanised fishing boats, large-scale killing of the species on the coast has necessitated intensive patrolling in the turtle zone. Sources said the authorities had seized seven trawlers during the last two months for violating the restrictions on fishing in the turtle zone.

According to records, while 12,997 turtles were killed in the state in 2001-02, the number of mortalities was 10,086 next year and it was 4,981 in 2003-04. Though turtle casualties came down slightly in the next two years when 3,227 and 3,242 dead Olive Ridleys were counted respectively on the coast, it shot up again to 4,046 in 2006-07.

Alleging that patrolling in the turtle zone was not effective, wildlife activist Biswajit Mohanty said around 600 Olive Ridley casualties in the coastal stretch between the Chilika mouth and Paradeep had been reported so far this season.

On the other hand, president of Orissa Traditional Fish Workers’ Union (OTFWU) Narayan Haldar hit out at the authorities for imposing a fishing ban in the sea without offering alternative livelihood options to the fishing community affected by the restrictions.

“We are not against turtle conservation, but we want the ban to be rational,” he said.

The authorities should also think about the livelihood of more than one lakh fishermen who depend on the sea for survival,” said Haldar alleging that the ban had become the bane of fishing almost throughout the coast.