Odisha’s ‘turtle man’ helps rare Olive Ridleys breed
BHUBANESWAR: Youngsters who patrol the murky shoreline into wee hours of the night, a women’s self help group which protects the mushy hatchlings, and a resolute 36-year-old man who has vowed to never marry to serve the ‘second avatar of Lord Vishnu’ — these are the pieces of an untold story behind the resurgence of the thousands of Olive Ridley sea turtles to the golden sand beaches of Odisha.
Olive Ridley turtles, which grow up to two feet in length and have a characteristic heart shaped olive green shell, are a species known for a participating in Arribada — or ‘the arrival’ in Spanish — which depicts the mass nesting phenomenon that witnesses thousands of turtles coming to the same beach to lay their eggs every year.
The eggs are considered a delicacy by humans and are a source of food for dogs. Once hatched, the offspring are often attacked by wild boars, kites, crows and hyenas. Only one in thousand hatchlings makes it to adulthood.
T h e s e f a c t o r s h ave e a r n e d t h e Olive Ridley species a place in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’S Red List.
Bichitranal Biswal, fondly called Bichi and hailed by his friends as the “Turtle Man of India”, was in eighth standard when he first saw hundreds of dead turtles on the beach and alerted the media about 17 years ago.
“I warned the local fishermen, that if things continued the same way, there would be no fish left for us to catch by 2030,” Bichi said.
Olive Ridley Turtles feed on jellyfish, a natural predator of smaller fishes. If the number of the turtles decline, there would be lesser fish to catch — affecting the livelihood of hundreds of fishermen and their families.
In accordance with the provisions of the Orissa Marine Fishing Regulation Act (OMFRA), 1982 and the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, sea fishing is restricted along the stretch of DhamraDevi-rushikulya river mouth for a period of seven to eight months every year.