The survival of thousands of traditional fishermen requires Orissa's marine resources to be managed sustainably. Existing laws such as the State Marine Fisheries Regulation Act need to be enforced effectively, on a consistent basis.
"While some steps have been taken, there remains a yawning gap
between these measures on paper and effective action on the ground.
For example, the state government is yet to effectively act on its
commitment of including local and independent organisations in the
process of monitoring turtle mortalities along Orissa's coastline
to ensure transparency and greater accuracy. Neither has it
committed to an annually depreciating turtle mortality target model
to demonstrate that it is serious about reducing turtle deaths",
said Areeba Hamid, Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace.
According to independent estimates, around 7162 turtle carcasses
were recorded in the Chilika to Paradip stretch alone in the
2008-2009 turtle season (November to May). This is well above the
average turtle mortality of 6,280 recorded in this area in the last
six seasons but a marginal decline of 8% when compared to mortality
figures from 2007-2008 in the Devi region (2). Taken together with
mortality figures south of Chilika, in Gahirmatha and north of the
Dhamra river mouth, including Udabali Island, the total mortality
for the entire state is once again likely to be in the region of
14,000-15,000 (3). Similarly, trawler violations in this region,
have been in the mean monthly average range of around 473
violations in the critical phase of the turtle season (November to
February), resulting both in large scale turtle deaths and severe
hardship via loss of fish catch to traditional fisher communities
(4).
"The patrol boats acquired by the Fisheries Department have not
yet been deployed in an active patrolling programme. On the issue
of livelihood security for traditional fishers, the Government of
Orissa has yet to expedite an additional income generation scheme
for impacted traditional fishermen in the Gahirmatha, Devi and
Rushikulya regions", added Hamid.
The probability of enactment of an alternative livelihood
programme in the 2009-2010 turtle season is enhanced with the
possibility of the Department of Forests and Wildlife in Orissa
entering into a pact with the Indian Ocean - South East Asian
Marine (IOSEA) Turtle MoU. The IOSEA is an inter-governmental
agreement to which Government of India is a signatory (5).
With a concerned eye on the 2009-2010 turtle season, Greenpeace
demands that:
- The Department of Forests, Wildlife, Government of Orissa acts
on its commitment to include independent observers (local
organisations) in the monitoring of turtle mortalities, to ensure
transparency and accuracy. The Department must make public the
organisations nominated by the Forest Department that will be
involved in this joint mortality census programme for the coming
2009-2010 turtle season.
- To complement the above, the department must commit to
progressively reducing the annual turtle mortality over the next
five seasons (6).
- The Directorate of Fisheries, Government of Orissa ensures
consistent and effective marine patrolling to enforce provisions of
OMFRA, which would safeguard the fishing grounds of traditional
fisher communities, build a process of sustainable utilisation of
Orissa's marine resources and, by default, result in a significant
drop in turtle mortalities.
- The Government of Orissa, and Shri. Naveen Patnaik, Honourable
Chief Minister of Orissa, ensures the immediate implementation of
an income generation/alternative livelihood programme for
traditional fishermen impacted by conservation measures in the
Gahirmatha, Devi and Rushikulya regions, as per commitments made by
the Government of Orissa.
For further information, contact
Areeba Hamid, Oceans Campaigner, Greenpeace India, +91-99005 69456, 
Ankur Ganguly, Greenpeace Communications, +91-98453 73818, 
Notes to Editor
(1), (2), (3) and (4) Refer to the paper “Analysis of the Turtle Season 2008-2009”:http://www.greenpeace.org/india/press/reports/analysis-of-turtle-season-2008-2009
(5) Refer to http://www.ioseaturtles.org/headline_detail.php?id=1393 “India: Government invited to sign pact with IOSEA”; for further details.
(6) 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. A transparent system for monitoring mortalities is critical to evaluating such targets. Refer to http://www.greenpeace.org/india/press/releases/turning-seas-of-trouble-into-s for further details.