Operation Oliva has been launched by the Indian Coast Guard to intercept unlawful trawling activities along Odisha coast while embarking on its annual mission to ensure the safe mid-sea sojourn of Olive Ridley turtles.
About Operation Oliva
- The Odisha government agencies have sought Indian Coast Guard services in the turtle conservation program.
- The Coast Guard sends an improvised ship, besides a dronier aircraft to keep an eye on illegal fishing in the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary.
- The patrol in turtle congregation sites would remain in force till the turtles finished laying eggs on nesting beaches.
- The Indian Coast Guard has requested the state government to issue identity cards to local fishermen to detect Bangladeshi infiltrators fishermen.
About Olive Ridley Turtles
- They inhabit tropical and subtropical waters of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans.
- They are found in coastal bays and estuaries also they can be very oceanic over some parts of their range.
- Measure 2-2.5 feet in carapace length.
- Nest every year in mass synchronized nestings known as arribadas (Spanish for “arrival”).
- Only the Kemp’s ridley also nests this way. Nests 2 times each season.
- The average clutch size is over 110 eggs which require a 52 to 58 day incubation period.
- Listed as Vulnerable (facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future) by the IUCN
- Direct harvest of adults and eggs, incidental capture in commercial fisheries, and loss of nesting habitat are the main threats to these turtles.
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