Mortality of olive ridley turtles Lepidochelys olivacea due to incidental capture in fishing nets along the Orissa coast, India

The coastal state of Orissa, India, harbours three important mass-nesting beaches of the olive ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys olivacea. During a survey of sea turtle nesting beaches from December 1993 to May 1994, 5282 dead olive ridleys were counted along the 480 km coastline of Orissa. Almost all...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Oryx Vol. 31; no. 1; pp. 32 - 36
Main Authors:	Pandav, B., Choudhury, B. C., Kar, C. S.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.01.1997 Blackwell Science Ltd
Subjects:	Lepidochelys olivacea India
ISSN:	0030-6053, 1365-3008
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	The coastal state of Orissa, India, harbours three important mass-nesting beaches of the olive ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys olivacea. During a survey of sea turtle nesting beaches from December 1993 to May 1994, 5282 dead olive ridleys were counted along the 480 km coastline of Orissa. Almost all the deaths were due to incidental capture in offshore fishing nets. Increased fishing activities in the coastal waters near important sea-turtle nesting beaches pose a serious threat to the survival of this endangered sea turtle. It is therefore suggested that coastal waters adjacent to major sea-turtle nesting beaches be declared as closed areas for commercial fishing activities in order to ensure the sea turtle's long-term survival.
Bibliography:	ArticleID:02187 istex:83B1C8B5C944A9F96C75EB8F47D25D625037546E ark:/67375/6GQ-6XSFZMQQ-C PII:S0030605300021876 House No. 25 Dharmavihar, Jagamara, Bhubaneswar–751030, Orissa, India. ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23
ISSN:	0030-6053 1365-3008
DOI:	10.1046/j.1365-3008.1997.d01-1.x