Fishing communities in India help save sea turtles

People in Odisha, a state in India, used to pilfer the eggs of marine turtles because they considered the eggs to be delicacies. This practice caused local sea turtles to plummet in numbers. These days, however, local fishing communities better understand how valuable the turtles are to nature and so are starting to protect them.

Beaches in Odisha, in the Indian Ocean, are important nesting grounds for olive ridley sea turtles. Every year, between January and April, female turtles return to three beaches (called Gahirmatha, Devi and Rushikulya) to lay their eggs. Within less than two months newly hatched baby turtles begin to emerge from the sand and make their way towards the sea — much to the delight of locals and tourists alike.

Olive ridley sea turtles are a vulnerable species and are under protection by law. The main threats to the aquatic animals in the coastal waters of Odisha involve fishing practices, which can lead to high mortality rates among turtles and other marine creatures. Importantly, many turtles get entangled in trawl nets and gill nets until they drown.

A recent study has shown that during the breading seasons between 2007 and 2010, more than 10,000 turtles perished in local waters. Females are especially at risk, which poses a threat to the fertility f the turtles. “Since females spend more time in the coastal waters of the nesting ground, they are subjected to longer interaction with coastal fisheries. This could possibly be behind the large number of dead females turtles documented during our study,” the study notes.

The state government and many conservationists have implemented several initiatives in order to protect the turtles. They include a ban on fishing activities close to nesting grounds. Yet in order for conservation to be truly effective, the cooperation of local fishing communities is essential. “We never harmed the turtles, as they were considered an avatar of [the Hindu deity] Lord Vishnu, but we used to take the eggs and eat them or sell them,” says Rabindra Nath Sahu, a local conservationist.

“But in 1993, Bivash Panday, a scientist with the Wildlife Institute of India, visited this region and showed us this incredible phenomenon of arribada (a Spanish term for mass nesting). I think we tagged about 10,000 nesting turtles then,” he adds.

“I have been hooked on turtle conservation work ever since, and can assure you that nobody in any of these three villages now even dreams of poaching the precious creatures. And it is going to stay this way.”

Yet people aren’t the only threat to the eggs. They are also at risk of being eaten by predators, including stray dogs and scavenging birds. To stop that from happening, groups of locals patrol the beaches and guard nesting areas from those predators. Local people can also be seen carrying buckets in order to collect hatchlings and assist them in making their way to the sea.

A success story in community-driven conservation? It certainly looks like it.