BHUBANESWAR: Stepping up vigil for the Olive Ridley mass nesting season, the state government has asked the Forest department to reactivate patrolling camps in all coastal divisions and ramp up coordinated sea patrols to ensure harmonious and safe nesting of the endangered species.
Chairing a high-level meeting of the committee constituted for protection and conservation of Olive Ridleys, chief secretary Manoj Ahuja stressed the need for coordinated efforts among all departments and institutions concerned to ensure safe nesting, protection and conservation of the species.
“Mass nesting of the sea turtles is a rare and unique natural phenomenon,” he said, ordering reactivation of 67 patrolling camps with necessary infrastructure across coastal forest divisions of the state.
Forest officials said special emphasis was given to nesting activities at Rushikulya river mouth and Gahirmatha marine sanctuary, the two major mass nesting sites. “Coordinated meetings are being conducted at the division level for joint sea patrolling, in cooperation with district collectors and SPs,” they said.
A total of 11.49 lakh Olive Ridleys carried out Arribada (mass nesting) at Rushikulya and Gahirmatha in 2022-23, while only 3.01 lakh turtles nested along the Rushikulya coast in 2023-24. However, in an exceptional and record-breaking Arribada event in 2024-25, a staggering 9.04 lakh turtles at Rushikulya and 6.07 lakh turtles at Gahirmatha, totalling to around 15.11 lakh Olive Ridleys, carried out mass nesting.
While the reason for this massive scale of mass nesting last year is not clearly known, forest officials attributed it to favourable environmental conditions and strong protection measures at the nesting sites. “A satellite telemetry study has also been initiated for the 2025-2029 period to better understand the movement patterns and nesting sites of the Olive Ridley turtles,” they said.
During the meeting, fisheries officials informed that a ban has been imposed on the use of motorised fishing boats from November 1 to May 31 in Scott’s island and Udabati north stretch of Dhamra, Kuluni-Muhan-New Devi Nassi island stretch of Devi and Prayagi-Aryapalli stretch of Rushikulya river mouths to ensure that the turtles do not get trapped in fishing nets or come under the propellers of fishing trawlers.
Taking note of it, the chief secretary emphasised timely payment of compensation to safeguard the interests of the fishermen community, who will be economically affected during the mass nesting season.
Additional chief secretary of Home and Forest department, Satyabrata Sahu and officials from Forest and Fisheries departments, Dhamra, Paradip and Gopalpur ports and representatives from Integrated Test Range (ITR)/DRDO Chandipur, Indian Coast Guard attended the meeting.