Olive Ridley deaths: TN to declare turtle congregation points as conservation reserves
Noting that both fisheries and forest departments do not have boats to conduct patrolling in the sea, a proposal was put forth in the meeting for the departments to procure their own boats to conduct joint patrolling.
Olive Ridley turtles
CHENNAI: With more than 1,300 Olive Ridley turtles estimated to be dead after being entangled in fishing nets across the Tamil Nadu coasts, the State Wildlife Board has proposed to declare certain turtle congregation points along the state coasts as turtle conservation reserves.
During the State Wildlife Board meeting on turtle mortality, held on Friday under the chairmanship of forest minister K Ponmudi, a decision was taken to constitute another Marine Elite Force similar to one that is in operation in the Gulf of Mannar to protect the turtles.
Noting that both fisheries and forest departments do not have boats to conduct patrolling in the sea, a proposal was put forth in the meeting for the departments to procure their own boats to conduct joint patrolling.
“The government has allocated Rs 80,000 per month to the fisheries department to rent boats for patrolling. However, hiring one boat costs up to Rs 20,000. Besides this, the members of the board requested the government to take measures to protect other turtle species including Green Turtles by using telemetry technology,” a source said.
Meanwhile, the fisheries and forest department found 342 fishermen, who were fishing within 5 nautical miles, using trawler boats. Of 342, chargesheets have been filed against 208 fishermen, and a diesel subsidy worth Rs 3.20 lakh has been cancelled.
Addressing the press after the meeting, minister Ponmudi said that Olive Ridley turtles die due to trawl nets used within 5 nautical miles. “There is a rule banning trawl boats within 5 nautical miles. In total, 1,308 turtles were reported dead. A majority of turtles have died in Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, and Chennai coasts,” he added.
He further added that volunteers will create awareness among the fishermen. “Also, we have instructed the authorities to switch off the lights close to the beaches and remove garbage periodically,” he said.
As per an estimation, the forest department has collected around 1 lakh Olive Ridley eggs from across the state and 345 eggs have hatched.
