Greenpeace India launches its latest and most ambitious campaign to protect the Olive Ridley Turtle at its nesting site " The Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary" in Orissa.
With turtle mortalities due to illegal fishing spiralling out of control, Greenpeace today presented the Orissa government with a clear ‘upper limit’ target for turtle mortality along the coast from Paradip to Chilika. Criticising the government for failing to solve a recurring tragedy, Greenpeace demanded that the funds recently released by the Centre be utilised to undertake effective patrolling to prevent illegal trawling. As of 31st January, 2,970 turtle carcasses have been counted along this stretch of the coast. Greenpeace is challenging the government to reduce the current rate of turtle mortalities by 20%, at the very least until the end of April 2008(1).
Bearing witness to the mass murder of Olive Ridley turtles can cost you dearly in the strange world we inhabit. 12 Greenpeace activists were arrested in New Delhi this morning, for having brought evidence of turtle mortality from Orissa to Delhi. In stark contrast, the person responsible for their deaths, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, was respectfully escorted to his vehicle by Delhi police, after he had made the appropriate sound bytes to news cameras.
We’ve witnessed first hand the hundreds of meaningless deaths of turtles on the beaches of Orissa. Camped at the Turtle Witness Camp, volunteers who thought they would be witness to the wondrous arribada of the Olive Ridley turtles, found themselves on macabre carcass-counting walks instead. Horrified, angered and no longer patient enough to wait for the wheels of bureaucratic machinery to start grinding, we’ve brought a symbol of the turtle graveyard to Bhubaneswar, outside the office of the Chief Wildlife Warden of Orissa. He has some tough questions to answer.
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From victory on the west coast of India, to fast progress on the east coast, this has been a busy week for our activists! The turtle is on the move again, with the Greenpeace Sugayatri (crowned by its giant turtle) out in full force, keeping its date with the traditional fish-workers of Orissa.
Our Turtle Witness Camp was launched on 27th January and in the first week alone, we’ve witnessed the circle of life in all its gore and glory. We’ve watched, awe-struck, as scores of mating turtles surface around the faithful MV Sugayatri. We’ve walked the beaches, unspeakably moved by the many carcasses literally dotting the beaches. And then found our hearts lifted again as flipper tracks in the sand provide evidence that the big mamas have been visiting.
Curious and interested fishermen watch as a giant turtle, at least 10 feet in diameter, bobs benignly beside their boats. This isn't a scene from a science fiction movie. It's the launch of Greenpeace India's latest, most ambitious campaign to protect the Olive Ridley turtle, part of our international campaign 'Defending our Oceans.' The turtle crowns the top of the Greenpeace vessel, the Sugayatri.
An introductory manual to fundamental sea turtle monitoring and research techniques. The report provides a comprehensive account of tools and skillsets that are used to monitor, record and analyse data on the nesting, mortality, congregation and mating patterns of the endangered Olive Ridley turtle.
