Travel India Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary

the largest mass nesting site of
Olive Ridley turtle
in the world

Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary is the only marine sanctuary in Orissa (Eastern India).
This Sanctuary is extremely important because it is the largest mass nesting site of the Olive Ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) in the world. There are only four mass nesting sites of the Olive Ridley turtles in the world.
Of these four, the ‘Playa Ostional’ is in Ostional village in Costa Rica.
The other three are in Orissa.

Mass Nesting Sites in Orissa

The three mass nesting sites of the Olive Ridley turtles in Orissa are:        ·         Nasi Islands of the Gahirmatha beach near the mouth of rivers Brahmini and Baitarani.
      ·         Devi river mouth in Puri district (100 kms south of Gahirmatha), and the
      ·         Rushikulya river mouth (320 kms south of Gahirmatha).

The estimate of the numbers of Olive Ridley turtles who come to the three nesting sites in Orissa vary according to different estimators.
They may exceed 1 million.
On an average, around 15,000 Olive Ridley turtles get killed every year – largely due to drowning, after getting entangled in the fishing nets.

Gahirmatha Turtle Sanctuary

The most important nesting site in Orissa is Gahirmatha.
The 35 kms coast of Gahirmatha (in Kendrapara District of Orissa), covering an area of 1435 sq kms, was declared a Turtle Sanctuary in 1979.On an average, 700,000 turtles lay 120 eggs each on the beach here every year.
The total is a cool 84 million eggs.
The eggs hatch in 45 – 70 days depending on the weather and temperature conditions.

The hatchlings emerge and make a frantic run to the sea, chased by predators such as crabs, vultures, and seabirds.
Even after they reach the sea, they are in danger from such predators as sharks, fishes and crocodiles.
Some years, there are no nestings at all.
We do not know why mass nesting does not take place in some years.

Olive Ridley Turtle
The Olive Ridley turtle, named after H.N. Ridley FRS, who first reported sighting of Olive Ridleys in Brazil in 1887, and because of their overall olive green colour, is the smallest of the marine turtle species in the world.They grow to a length of 70 cms. The adults weigh about 45 kgs.
The carapace is tear-drop shaped.
They are omnivorous and feed on crustaceans and molluscs.

They can dive to great depths and may be bottom feeders.
They are highly migratory, travelling thousands of kilometers between foraging and nesting grounds.

The most fascinating feature of Olive Ridley turtle is their mass nesting called ‘arribada’ – a Spanish word meaning mass arrival.

It is believed that they nest at intervals of one to four years.
In India, the nesting season is between November to March.
Olive Ridleys nest sporadically in other coastal places of India, such as,.Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Gorai, Kihim, Manowrie, Versova, between Ambolgad and Vetye, Morjim and Galgibag; Kozhikode district (Calicut) in and some places in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and in the Sundarbans.

According to the IUCN, the status of the Olive Ridley turtle is ‘Critically endangered’.

Incredible Mass Nesting

The mass nesting or arribada is an unforgettable sight.
On a clear moonlit night, during the nesting season, you can see thousands of turtles crawling out of the sea, puffing and laboring as they drag themselves on the beach, select a suitable site, dig a hole in the sand with their hind flippers, lay nearly 120 eggs each, cover and compact the holes with their own body, sweep out all traces of their visit and crawl back to the sea – all within 45 minutes.
This indeed is one of Nature’s miracles!

Nesting Sites in Danger
Gahirmatha has come into the news recently due to construction of the Dhamra Port in the area.
The Port is being built by the Dhamra Port Company Ltd (DAPCL) – a joint venture of Tata Steel and Larsen and Toubro.The port is less than 15 kms from the turtle nesting beaches at Gahirmatha Turtle Sanctuary and less than 5 kms from the Bhitarkanika Sanctuary, India’s second largest mangrove forest.

25 percent of the Port work is already over (May 2008).
The first phase of the project, worth about Rs.24.63 billion, will become fully operational by April 2010. National and international environmental activist group raised objections.
The work was stopped for a short spell.
But the concerned Government agencies, including the National Environment Appellate Authority, have given clearance and construction work has again begun.These agencies are of the view that the northern stretch of the Dhamra river is muddy and silty and therefore unsuitable for turtle nesting.
The Wildlife Institute of India has also opined that the marine turtles nest south of the river and do not come to the beaches on the north.

Role of IUCN

DAPL had invited the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to identify areas with potential to adversely affect the turtle habitat and precautionary measures that can be implemented to nullify the possible negative impact.

The IUCN made certain suggestions. One of the measures involves using turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in the fishing nets and trawlers.
Bittu Sehgal, editor of Sanctuary magazine, is of the view that construction of the port “would disrupt the food chain cycle in the entire marine system”. According to him, the damage by the port would be irreversible. “Olive Ridley turtles feed on invertebrates and play an important role in open ocean and coastal ecosystems. …The effect will be visible after five years but who will answer then? ”

Bhitarakanika Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park

Close to Gahirmatha Turtle Sanctuary is the lovely Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park.
The Bhitarkanika area was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1975.

This is the second largest Mangrove ecosystem in India and is known for its crocodiles, water monitors, creeks and canals and kingfishers.
There are also white crocodiles.
There are herds of deer on the banks. There are also a large variety of migratory and resident birds.

Cause for concern

A number of national and international environmental groups have expressed concern that the port, in proximity to the two Protected Areas, poses an unacceptable environmental risk. Greenpeace has released a critique that exposes serious and fundamental flaws in the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) conducted for TATA’s Dhamra port project in Bhadrak district, Orissa.According to the environmentalists, the risk is not limited to the nesting sites alone.
The turtles live in the off shore waters for about six months a year.
The port site is a breeding ground for horse-shoe crabs, as well as rare species of reptiles and amphibians including the amphibian Fejervarya cancrivora.

Recommendation

The presence of the turtles actually helps the fishermen and results in higher fish productivity. There is higher abundance of fish – leading to higher catches.The reason is the preference of turtles to feed on jelly fishes which otherwise would have eaten the fishlets,

The law in Orissa requires that the trawlers should be fitted with turtle excluder devices (TEDs). But the fishermen are averse to this device. They feel that this will greatly reduce their catch.
The environmentalists, several NGOs and students are doing a good job educating the public and protecting the turtle hatchlings.

Visit the incredible mass nesting, if possible.
Local tour operators will organise a visit to the nesting sites.Other wise, you can visit the mangrove forests and the area any time of the year except during the monsoons (rainy season).