Orissa, India — It’s a
lot smaller than the Esperanza. In fact,
a few months ago the Sugayatri was just
another dilapidated fishing boat. But with
a coat of rainbow-coloured paint and a giant
wooden turtle mounted like a figurehead,
it’s now the latest addition to the fleet
defending our oceans. The Sugayatri has
just embarked on a mission to save the Olive
Ridley turtle in India.
The boat has been completely refitted to
handle its new and very demanding job: to
patrol the waters around Orissa's Gahirmatha
Marine Sanctuary, documenting and observing
the mass nesting of the Olive Ridley Turtle,
and trying to make this nesting season a
little safer for the Olive Ridley.
The beaches of Orissa, India, provide one
of the last nesting grounds of the endangered
Olive Ridley turtles in the world. Every
year, between December and April, thousands
of these beautiful creatures come ashore
on the beaches of Orissa to lay their eggs.
Unfortunately, now Orissa resembles a turtle
graveyard more than a breeding ground. The
populations of the Olive Ridley are threatened
by various factors like trawling, offshore
drilling for oil and gas, and the proposed
construction of an industrial port near
the nesting sites. Over 100,000 dead Olive
Ridleys have been washed ashore on the beaches
of Orissa in the last decade alone.
The crew of the Sugayatri have deployed
six buoys to demarcate the boundaries of
the marine sanctuary. They have already
seen first hand the agony of an Olive Ridley
caught in a gillnet. And they have been
instrumental in saving the lives of several
trapped turtles. Nearby, activists have
established the “Turtle Witness Camp”. The
camp was inaugurated with a traditional
Indian ceremony, which was attended by hundreds
of fisher families from neighbouring villages.
Olive Ridley turtle caught in a trawl net.
In the first week alone, our activists and
volunteers at the camp witnessed the circle
of life in all its gore and glory. They’ve
watched, awe-struck, as scores of mating
Olive Ridley turtles surface around Sugayatri.
They’ve walked the beaches of Orissa, deeply
moved by the many dead turtles literally
dotting the sand, and then found hope again
after discovering flipper tracks. These
Ocean Defenders will stay in the area for
five months to monitor and document congregational
patterns and mating of the Olive Ridley
at sea. Six weeks into its inception, life
at the Turtle Witness Camp is already a
kaleidoscope of emotions,from awe at the
exquisite beauty of the region and the Olive
Ridley turtles, but also the needless and
senseless deaths of hundreds of the same
turtles.
Soon the Esperanza will embark on the next
leg of our year-long journey, confronting
pirate fishing fleets and their devastating
impacts on tuna in the Atlantic. In the
meantime, the plight of the Olive Ridley
is yet another example of a species, like
whales, suffering because of human greed.
Follow this emerging story at Greenpeace
India’s blog, where volunteers, activists
and visiting crew from the Arctic Sunrise
will describe their days at the camp, and
discuss the importance of defending our
oceans.
