| Have you ever known fear? Has your
work ever put you in a life-threatening situation?
In July 1997, I was surveying the nests of salt water crocodiles
in the Bhitarkanika mangroves. There was this Phoenix patch
in the Dangamal forest block where the density of crocodile
nests was extremely high. Dhumal, my field assistant and I
had already located two nests and were moving further when
we suddenly came across a nesting female. She must have been
about four metres long and she chased us for almost 15 m.
In trying to get away I fell down in the mud and really thought
that was it. Dhumal dragged me to safety. I was shaken to
the core!
And this never cured you of your wildlife addiction?
Not one bit! It only added to the allure! The fear of wild
animals is an urban phenomenon. I would imagine that there
is more to fear from city threats, which far outweigh any
that you may face in the wild. I remember, for instance, following
a king cobra for about an hour one morning in the mangrove
forests of Bhitarkanika, where I was studying water monitors.
The snake was on the edge of a tidal creek, flicking its tongue
in and out of its mouth. When I disturbed it, the cobra merely
turned around slowly and raised its hood. I spent 55 minutes
with the exquisite king cobra and at no time was I under any
threat because I respected its space.
And what does Anu, your wife, have to say about this fascination
of yours?
Anu happens to be a wildlife biologist too and seems to be
even more keen on field trips than I am! We met at the Wildlife
Institute of India, Dehradun where she was my junior for four
years and we were recently married. We both consider ourselves
lucky.
That's absolutely wonderful! And what drew you into all
this? Why wildlife and not, say, electronics or banking or
advertising?
My God! I can't even imagine any other life. I get to sit
for endless nights on moonlit beaches with Anu to watch some
of the world's oldest animals coming ashore to nest in thousands!
If I were not being paid to do this, I would pay someone to
let me do it!
But seriously, the river Mahanadi and the respect both my
parents, who were doctors, have always had for nature was
my inspiration. My childhood at Banki, a small, sleepy town
on the bank of the serene Mahanadi led me to fall in love
with nature. Advertising? Banking? Would they have allowed
me to stay close to the natural world?
That's unique. A river was your inspiration?
Well, more than just the river. After I graduated in Zoology
from Utkal University, I visited the Nandankanan Zoo (the
same one that is in the news today for the tiger deaths) and
there I met the-then zoo veterinarian, Dr. L.N. Acharjyo who
literally changed the course of my life. He was the one who
encouraged me to take up a career as a wildlife biologist.
I also read an article in the Readers Digest about Dr. Salim
Ali, after he had died. That article got me interested in
birds, which became a virtual addiction. When I graduated,
I joined the Wildlife Institute of India to do my Master's
in wildlife science. And that was that!
And what about the turtles? Are they really in as much
trouble as we imagine? You must be delighted that this year,
a record number nested successfully!
Yes, it's been a great nesting year at Gahirmatha. But a
word of caution is called for about 'successful nesting'.
Remember that the half-million turtles and more that came
ashore to nest far exceeded the available nest sites. Many
eggs, laid only days before, were therefore destroyed by subsequent
nesters in the Nasi group of islands. Since 1994, I have often
walked 50 km. in a day along Orissa's coastline and am convinced
that we can save the turtles, but only if we save their beaches.
How on earth do you manage to count turtles in the dark
anyway, since they seem to come ashore to nest only at night?
Counting every turtle during the arribada is next to impossible,
but it's not as though we have no proven estimation techniques.
In fact, we have even evolved some computer programmes to
help us analyse the data we collect. But the counting techniques
must be rigorous and conducted according to strict monitoring
protocols.
Coming back to your question about this nesting season I must
say it felt really good to know that such a large number of
turtles are even present in our coastal waters and that they
are using the Gahirmatha beach. But I am really concerned
about the number of nests that are exposed every year by beach
erosion. Tidal inundation also causes eggs to drown and the
'success rate' or what we call 'recruitment' is therefore
quite low at Gahirmatha.
So what's the verdict? Good news on the turtle front or
bad news?
Mixed news. Never have so many turtles died in trawler nets
before. By some counts this figure was over 20,000 turtles!
No one seems to be talking about this because they must be
overwhelmed with this year's nesting figure. Wherever there
has been organised harvesting, or large-scale killing of turtles,
populations have plummeted over the years. It is impossible
to successfully manage marine turtles at stable population
levels while subjecting them to large-scale mortalities.
That certainly sounds like bad news…
Yes, but with the protection of their nesting sites and coastal
waters we can look forward to secure populations. That is
good news and I must believe that this will actually happen.
Where did you find so much enthusiasm when all of us seem
destined to work in a sea of bad news?
My optimism is not unfounded. I have seen nature repair itself
before my very eyes. While nature is indeed fragile at one
level, at another level it is tough, having
had billions of years of 'experience' in dealing with traumas.
And what help do you have in the field? Is there a team
at work saving turtles?
I have an excellent team of 18-20 local boys from the coastal
villages who work with me during the nesting season. The boys
are extremely well-trained and monitor the number of turtles
nesting along the coast, count the dead turtles washed ashore
and tag the turtles that are coming ashore to nest. And, of
course, the joint initiative that involves almost all players
is Operation Kachhapa, an effort put into motion by the Wildlife
Protection Society of India. With the help of the local media,
Operation Kachhapa has generated tremendous awareness about
the plight of marine turtles in Orissa. I would say almost
no one who reads a newspaper in Orissa is unaware now of the
unacceptable mortality rate of turtles.
But is this actually having any effect, for instance on
the use of Turtle Exclusion Devices by trawlers (TEDs)?
There are more effective and relatively easier ways to minimise
the threats posed by trawlers than TEDs. Turtles are not distributed
all along the Orissa coast, rather they are found in certain
patches of coastal waters. Such aggregations are known as
'reproductive patches' and protecting these must become our
immediate priority. Our research shows that turtles are not
evenly distributed in the 750 sq. km. Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary,
but are found in an area of roughly around 35 - 50 sq. km.
just south of the nesting beach. If this area is effectively
patrolled and kept free of trawler nets, the Gahirmatha mortality
can be minimised. The same goes for other reproductive patches
along the coast.
Another vital step is the enforcement of a ban on near-shore
mechanised fishing activities. The Orissa Marine Fishing (Regulation)
Act, 1982 already bans any kind of mechanised fishing within
five kilometres of the shore line, which is precisely where
olive Ridleys congregate during the breeding season.
What are your views on the import bans on non TED-caught
shrimp, imposed by the US, which was overruled by the WTO?
Anyone who sees turtles drown in the shrimp trawls as I have
will support such a ban. I know the economic implications
of such bans are far reaching, but what is the use now of
entering into arguments with the Government of India, which
has fought and won its case in the WTO? One way or another,
I just want the killing of turtles to stop. I have often chased
and apprehended illegal trawlers that are taking a terrible
toll on turtles every single year.
And remember, by merely fitting a TED in a trawler the problem
of turtle mortality is not going to be solved. At sea the
fishermen either remove the TED from the net or seal the opening
passage for the turtles in the net and continue with business
as usual. This is actually happening in other parts of the
world where use of TED has been made mandatory. More effective
would be a total ban on near shore trawling, which would also
benefit traditional fishermen.
What about protection of turtles in other beaches, away
from Orissa?
The Bay Islands, Andaman and Nicobar and the Lakshadweep
islands support a good population of hawksbill, leatherback
and green sea turtles. Sporadic nesting of olive Ridleys also
takes place all along the Indian coast, but little work has
been done on documenting this. Satish Bhaskar has carried
out some of the pioneering work on marine turtles in the Andaman
and Nicobar Islands through the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust.
But this study is now almost a decade old and no recent information
is available from these areas. The Central Marine Fisheries
Research Institute, Cochin, has carried out a countrywide
survey of incidental capture of sea turtles during fishing
operations. But there are undoubtedly glaring gaps in our
knowledge about the conservation status of marine turtles
along the Indian coast.
Surely this situation must be remedied?
Actually the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the
Wildlife Institute of India are in the process of implementing
a countrywide United Nations Development Project (UNDP) study
on marine turtles. In the initial phase all the coastal states
and Union Territories are being surveyed to document sea turtle
nesting and associated problems.
How do you actually keep track of turtles?
Well, we tag them, and then when they are recaptured in different
places, we know something about their migration habits. A
turtle we tagged in Orissa near the Devi river mouth on March
13, 1997 was found 22 nautical miles off Kalmunai, on the
east coast of Sri Lanka on April 27, 1997. In other words,
within 44 days it swam nearly 2,000 km. We have 13 recaptures
from Sri Lanka and three from the Gulf of Mannar to date.
I can therefore say with some certainty that, outside the
breeding season, turtles nesting along the Orissa coast reside
somewhere in the Gulf of Mannar and the coastal waters off
Sri Lanka.
We also know that tagged turtles in Orissa use more than
one beach during a breeding season for egg laying. For example,
turtles tagged while nesting at Rushikulya were recaptured
a month later near the Devi river mouth. Similarly, turtles
tagged at the Devi river mouth and Gahirmatha were recovered
nesting elsewhere during the same nesting season. This has
led us to believe that the turtles using the three rookeries
in Orissa are not different populations, rather they are part
of one large population. We must factor in the complex business
of multiple estimation of their numbers. We also know that
large-scale mortality in any of the nesting beaches affects
the nesting population on other beaches.
Do you have the support of the fishing community in your
endeavours?
Not to the extent we want, but we can see that this has to
be one of our prime conservation objectives in the coming
years. We need their cooperation and active help to protect
turtle aggregations in the coastal waters off Orissa just
as much as we need their support to protect nesting beaches
from anthropogenic disturbances. We are going about this by
educating younger fisherfolk on the importance of turtles
in the marine ecosystem. They are key to our long-term conservation
objectives.
So are you just an olive Ridley man or do other turtle
species form a part of your scheme of things?
All turtles interest me. I intend to take up field studies
on leatherback and hawksbills in both the Bay Islands in the
near future.
Did Orissa's 1999 super cyclone have any adverse effect
on the nesting sites?
Two of the nesting beaches, Rushikulya and the Devi river
mouth were in the path of the October cyclone. The nesting
beach at Rushikulya was unaffected. But the three kilometre
long sand spit near the Devi river mouth got disconnected
from the main land and has now become an island. Actually
this might prove to be a boon to the turtles as there might
be less disturbance, but unfortunately, the nesting of turtles
on this island was not properly documented after the cyclone
in the latest nesting season.
Do you think the cyclone will encourage the Orissa government
to rethink its attitude towards coastal belts? Will there
be fewer attempts to destabilise the coast?
I can't really say how the government will react, but I know
from personal experience, that mangroves act as a major barrier
to tidal surges during cyclones. There used to be extensive
mangrove forests in the Mahanadi delta and in the area between
Paradeep and Devi river mouth. This was hacked down over the
years. Had this vegetation been standing, the intensity of
the cyclones impact would have been less and lives would have
been saved. Fortunately, extensive mangrove forests exist
in the Brahmini-Baitarani delta and though this area was not
in the eye of the October cyclone but only at the outer periphery,
it certainly acted to protect the coast.
Do you face problems from large projects such as the Dhamra
port and the industries coming up around Rushikulya where
your turtles nest?
Yes, they pose a serious threat to the turtle population in
Orissa. The proposed port at Dhamra is located in the vicinity
of Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary. If this port becomes operational,
the light pollution alone could play havoc with the survival
rates of hatchlings, which will instinctively head the wrong
way when they become disoriented. Any artificial illumination
near nesting beaches will disrupt critical behaviour, including
nest site choice and nocturnal sea-finding behaviour of both
hatchlings and nesting females. Pollution will only aggravate
this problem. Chemical industries near the Rushikulya rookery
are already traumatising the turtles.
Do you see more young people following your lead? Is natural
history research a viable career option for young people?
This country offers some of the best opportunities for natural
science/wildlife research. Young people may not get rich quick
this way, but I promise you that the satisfaction derived
is worth a million dollars! But for work conditions to improve
we need much better rapport between researchers and park managers.
The latter can really make life uncomfortable for the former
and this could possibly dissuade young and inexperienced researchers.
For a better relationship perhaps we need to undertake the
type of studies that actually help park managers do their
job better. This may not hold true for all cases. And finally
the most crucial thing, permission to conduct research in
protected areas should be obtained on the merit of the proposed
work and this should not be affected by any personal bias. |
