Along with the turtles traditional fishermen of Orissa are impacted by illegal mechanised fishing, especially trawling.
The mechanisms instituted by the government so far include:
1. A commitment to include independent observers (local
organisations) in the process of monitoring turtle mortalities
along Orissa's coastline, to ensure transparency and greater
accuracy.
2. Creation of a dedicated budgetary head and
resources, specifically for turtle conservation, which would assist
in streamlining resources, while increasing the accountability of
the Department of Forests - Wildlife.
3. The deployment of marine patrolling with fast patrol
boats by the Directorate of Fisheries
In November 2008, Greenpeace released an approach paper "Orissa
- Turning Seas of Trouble into Seas of Plenty" (1). The paper
discussed the steady decline in fish catch and the potential threat
that this poses for the 4.5 lakh strong fisher population of
Orissa. It espoused a solution as well - sustainable fisheries
management -- which will safeguard the livelihoods of the
traditional fishing population, while by default, reducing turtle
mortalities significantly. In the paper, Greenpeace had recommended
a separate budget head for turtle conservation and transparency
mechanisms for recording mortalities.
"The season of 2008-2009 has brought with it a flavour of
change", said Areeba Hamid, Oceans Campaigner, Greepeace. "Turtle
mortalities have so far reduced by close to 20% in the Devi region,
as compared to the same time last year (2). While we are happy at
the progress made, the forest department needs to commit to
progressively reducing the annual turtle mortality over the next
five seasons (3). This would enable the Government's marine
conservation efforts to be evaluated objectively. Simultaneously,
regular marine patrolling by the Fisheries department is vital to
safeguard the interests of traditional fishermen from trawling,
which currently is operating unchecked in the region (4). This
would result in a substantial drop in turtle mortalities as well".
The position paper also reminds the Orissa government of its
duty towards allocating sufficient resources to tackle the fishery
crisis, both by providing patrolling and enforcement resources, as
well as compensation and alternative means of livelihood for
traditional fishermen affected by fishing restrictions. The
existing legislative framework, including the Orissa Marine Fishing
regulation Act of 1982 and directives of the Central Empowered
Committee of the Supreme Court (2004) clearly spell out the
specific responsibilities of the state government authorities.
However, implementation of existing laws has been weak.
Hamid added "These are steps in the right direction, and we are
now hopefully seeing the beginning of the end of the
turtle-fisheries conflict. Of course, for these commitments to
translate into real change, continued implementation on the ground
is absolutely necessary. It is now more vital than ever that the
Government of Orissa also expedite an alternative livelihood or
income generation programme, for traditional fishermen in the
Gahirmatha, Devi and Rushikulya regions". In conclusion, she said
"For such programmes to be successful, cognizance must be taken of
socio-cultural realities, to ensure their approval and
acceptability. We look forward to the Government announcing a
time-lined road map on such a programme, which would serve the
interests of over 100,000 fishermen in the state".
For further information, contact
1. Saumya Tripathy, Greenpeace Communications, 
, +91-93438 62212
2. Areeba Hamid, Oceans Campaigner, Greenpeace India, 
, +91-99005 69456.
Notes to Editor
1. Please refer to http://www.greenpeace.org/india/press/releases/turning-seas-of-trouble-into-s">http://www.greenpeace.org/india/press/releases/turning-seas-of-trouble-into-s for further details.
2. Please refer to Annexure I for further details.
3. Such a commitment would mean that the turtle mortality for the upcoming season would be reduced by 35%, and the goal at the end of five years would see mortalities reduced from the current average of 12,500 to around 2400. Of course, a transparent system for monitoring mortalities is key to evaluating such targets. Please refer to http://www.greenpeace.org/india/press/releases/turning-seas-of-trouble-into-s">http://www.greenpeace.org/india/press/releases/turning-seas-of-trouble-into-s for further details.
4. Please refer to Annexure I for further details.