The Coast Guard has launched ‘Operation Oliva’ to intercept unlawful trawling activities along Odisha coast while embarking on its annual mission to ensure safe mid-sea sojourn of Olive Ridley turtles. The Odisha government agencies have sought for Coast Guard’s services in the turtle conservation programme. The Coast Guard had pressed into service an improvised ship, besides a dronier aircraft to keep a tab on illegal fishing in the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary. As the turtles had begun arriving en masse for mating, an aircraft was being pressed into service for easy interception of illegal trawling operation along the marine sanctuary water zone.

The patrol in turtle congregation sites would remain in force till the marine turtles finished laying eggs on nesting beaches. The Coast Guard has appealed to the state government to issue identity cards to local fishermen to detect Bangladeshi infiltrators due to their striking similarity in language, looks and physical features with local Bengali-speaking marine fishermen.

Did You Know???

• The olive ridley sea turtle is also known as the Pacific ridley sea turtle.
• It is a medium-sized species of sea turtle found in warm and tropical waters, primarily in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
• The olive ridley turtle has a circumtropical distribution, living in tropical and warm waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans from India, Arabia, Japan, and Micronesia south to southern Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
• Olive ridley turtles are best known for their behavior of synchronized nesting in mass numbers, termed arribadas.