Saving Olive Ridley turtles: 7-month fishing ban imposed in Odisha’s Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary

Odisha on Friday imposed a seven-month fishing ban on the 1437sq km Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary that is home to thousands of rare Olive Ridley turtles. In a bid to protect the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles, the forest department has imposed a seven-month ban in Gahirmatha within the Bhitarkanika National Park.

The restrictions have also been imposed in Rushikulya, Dhamra, and Devi river mouths and will remain effective for seven months – from November 1 to May 31, 2025. Under the restrictions, there is a complete ban on fishing and movement of mechanized trawlers and boats up to 20km from the coast of Dhamra mouth to Devi river to provide best environment for Olive Ridley mating.

Like every year, the turtles are expected to arrive in November for mating in the sea with the egg laying process beginning by March next year. The Forest Department has already set up turtle protection camps with the deployment of marine police personnel.

“We have imposed a strict seven-month ban on fishing and trawling in Gahirmatha for Olive Ridley turtles. The turtles will arrive in November for mating. So to protect these endangered turtles, we usually put a year-long ban, but the strict ban has been imposed for seven months,” informed Sudarshan Gopinath, Rajnagar Divisional Forest Officer (DFO).