Berhampur: Encouraged by the mass nesting of olive ridley turtles in Rushikulya river mouth, the forest department has urged the local people to help them in protecting the species.

"We can not give full protection to the turtles. The local people must be aware on how to protect these turtles and co-ordinate with the government agencies in saving the species," said Berhampur divisional forest officer Asish Kumar Behera.

Mass nesting of turtles have increased significantly here in the last two years. This year, there was a record nesting of 4.82 lakh turtles. In 2017, 3.70 lakh turtles had thronged the shore. The length of the beach has been increased from 3.5km to 5km this year to accommodate more turtles during mass nesting. There is also a chanceof mass nesting of the turtles at Bahuda river mouth next year for the first time. The number is expected to increase every year and we must prepare ourselves accordingly," he said.

Rabindranath Sahu of Ruhsikulya Sea Turtle Protection Committee (RSTPC) who has been engaged in saving the turtles in the Rushikulya river mouth since 1994, said that three government agencies - the forest and fisheries departments and the Coast Guard were doing a commendable job for the protection of the turtles.

"Interestingly, some persons who were poaching the turtles till about two decades ago, have now joined their hands with us and have turned into protector of these species," said Sahu.

Berhampur MLA Ramesh Chandra Chau Patnaik flagged off a bi-cycle rally to mark the World Turtle Day on Wednesday.