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The marine fishermen
community can broadly be classified into three groups traditional fishermen,
mechanized gill-netters and mechanised trawlers. Traditional country fishermen
have been fishing for centuries along the Orissa coast with the help of rowing
and sailing boats and do not pose much danger to turtles. Occasionally, when a
turtle gets caught in one of their nets, it can escape if the fisherman frees
it. But the turtles only have a chance if the net is small in length (up to
100-200 metres) and not like the large mechanized gill-netters whose nets may
stretch up to 2-3 kms! The interests of these traditional fishermen very often
clash with the powerful people who operate mechanised trawlers and gill-netters.
The Orissa Marine Fishing Regulation Act (OMFRA) protects the rights of
traditional fishermen by prohibiting mechanised fishing within a 5 km radius of
the coast. However, the mechanised boats frequently poach fish from the
prohibited zone. The traditional fishermen lose their nets and are often
attacked by the trawler crew if they protest.
Mechanised Fishing
Sea turtles in Orissa are killed due to mechanized fishing. Mechanised fishing
is of two types gill netting and trawling. Both can be equally harmful to sea
turtles. Operation Kachhapa has photographs of dead turtles enmeshed in trawl
nets as well as gill nets. During government meetings, the mechanized
gill-netters claim that turtles swim on the bottom of the sea and hence they do
not get caught in their nets. The trawler operators claim that turtles swim on
the surface of the water and hence it is the gill-netters who are the killers !
The fact is both are equally deadly for turtles if they fish in the
well-identified turtle congregation zones of the three mass nesting sites. The 5
km prohibition has been applied for the same reason during the mass-nesting
season, the turtles congregate near the shore.
Gill Netting
Recent evidence points
to the deep threat to turtles by gill nets. In February 2002, Operation
Kachchapa found 205 dead turtles caught in a single gill net that had washed
ashore at the Devi River mouth beach. A few weeks earlier, 95 dead turtles were
found floating, enmeshed in a gill net in the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary.
Fishing by mechanised gill-netters is a recent development along the Orissa
coast. It gained popularity in the past decade after the fishing industry
collapsed in the neighbouring states of West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh due to
excessive over fishing. Even in Orissa, the average catch is falling and
mechanised fishing boat operators, after covering the high cost of diesel, now
often operate at a loss. The owners and operators of large gill-netters are now
intentionally confusing the issue of turtle protection by claiming that the
fishing ban is affecting the livelihoods of thousands of traditional fishermen.
They are also trying to ride on the traditional fishermen bandwagon by including
themselves among them. A gill-netter can be as big as a trawler and harvest
catch worth Rs.1,00,000 ($ 2,200) on an exceptionally good day. It cannot be
mistaken for a traditional fishing craft since it uses a powerful 10 HP to 40 HP
marine engine, has iceboxes and storage facilities and can do a sea voyage for 3
to 4 days. The larger ones from Kakdwip (West Bengal) carry a crew of 12 to 15
persons and can sail for nearly a month. They carry up to 3,000 litres of diesel
and have a truckload of ice in stock for freezing their catch. How can these
possibly be described as traditional fishing boats? Some of the large gill-net
operators are the owners of 3 to 4 gill-netters that are hired out to illegal
and temporary immigrants from Bangladesh who camp in the fishing villages of
Orissa during winter. Operators from Andhra Pradesh deploy large gill-netters
equipped with multi-filament nets to catch large valuable fish like seer and
bhetki. They fish illegally, very close to the shore, at areas like Devi River
mouth, Konark, Puri, Chilika mouth, and Rushikulya River mouth, during the
turtle season.
Trawlers
Trawlers without Turtle
Excluder Devices (TEDs) can catch up to 25 to 30 turtles in one haul (which
works out to 100 turtles per day) if they fish in turtle congregation zones.
Despite being given TEDs free of cost by the Marine Products Export Development
Agency (MPEDA) trawlers are not using TEDs though they are required to do so by
law. They claim that TED usage results in loss of catch.Field trials carried out
by the Wildlife Institute of India in January 2002, in the presence of
representative from the Trawlers’ Association, revealed that the average fish
catch loss was 3% to 8% and that too, of low quality fish and jellyfish.
No shrimp was lost in these trials. The simple reason for the obstinacy and
refusal by the trawler operators to obey the law, is lack of enforcement. The
Fisheries Department believes its responsibility ceases once the TEDs are
distributed and workshops are held to demonstrate their use. We have seen
trawlers with TEDS hooked up on the cabin rooftop as TV antennas. Yes, they make
good antennas !
Fisheries Department
The Fisheries Department does not have a patrol boat. It uses old fishing trawlers, which break down regularly, and whose speed is half that of the boats they are supposed to check and regulate. The Government of India gave Rs.1 crore to the Orissa Fisheries Department about five years ago for the purchase of patrol boats. The Department claims that two fast patrol boat have been ordered but are yet to be delivered. Surely during this time, one could have ordered and procured an aircraft carrier ! The most important role of the Department is that of a regulator. Instead of the 1,000 or so licenses it is allowed to issue to mechanised fishing boats (as per the provisions of the OMFRA), it has issued licenses to 1,472 mechanised fishing boats and 4,106 motorised boats. Even these figures do not tell the whole story. Apart from these licenced boats, there are thousands of boats from the neighbouring states as well as boats without registration or licences fishing illegally in Orissa’s waters. Illegal fishing is very easy to do for there is no regular high seas patrolling to check papers.
Forest Department
The Forest Department, which is largely land-based, is doing some patrolling inside the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary. This season they have seized four trawlers from Andhra Pradesh and some gill-netters. However, they are hampered by the lack of fast sea-going patrol boats that would cut down the sailing time and increase their efficiency. Errant trawlers, on sighting the Forest Department’s patrol trawler, get ample time to flee after raising their nets. This often makes the entire exercise fruitless, and frustrating. Implementation How do the various departments enforce the fishing ban when they lack even patrol boats ? Except for the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary and the Rushikulya river mouth, where some patrolling takes place, there is presently no patrolling along the rest of the coast. The Orissa government declares a seasonal fishing ban. However, it is only applicable to the identified turtle congregation zones, and it is rarely enforced. The ban applies to three places. One is the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary where fishing is banned for everyone throughout the year (but only enforced for three months). The other two places are the Devi River mouth and the Rushikulya River mouth, where there is no ban for traditional fishermen; not a single traditional fishing boat has been seized at either of these sites during all these years. If turtle mortality and disturbance is to be prevented, it is imperative that fishing is stopped in the congregation zones. This would mean restricting fishing in only two areas with a coastal stretch of about 8 to 10 km, which is negligible. The fishermen, traditional and mechanised, would be free to fish outside the Marine Sanctuary and along the rest of the 440 km Orissa coast as per their fishing zones.
Conclusion
This is the current state of affairs on the Orissa coast as regards marine fishing and turtle protection. Despite the strong directions from the CEC, at present the only ray of hope to check the turtle mortality is the Coast Guard, which has promised to carry out shallow water patrolling. The bounty of the sea is not unlimited. Like all our resources, fisheries also require management and regulation to ensure sustainability. Its collapse will be a devastating loss to thousands of traditional fishermen, and to our natural heritage.
Belinda Wright &
Biswajit Mohanty
Operation Kachhapa
Officals Decide to
Control Tourist Activity at Bhittarkanika.
BHUBANESWAR: That unrestricted tourism can boomerang on the ecology of atourist
hot-spot having environmental importance, has been realised by the State at
last. After sensing that excessive tourist inflow to crocodile habitats can
play havoc with the reptiles, the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary officials
have now decided to streamline tourism into the eco hot-spot. Bhitarkanika is
one of India's finest estuarine crocodile habitats and now is home to more than
1,300 such reptiles.
Their high population, which is a major tourist attraction has now emerged as the problem. Large number of visitors and increased boat activity in creeks of Mahanadi can disturb behaviour of crocodiles and affect their reproduction activity, Rajnagar DFO Anup Kumar Nayak said. ``That is why we decided to control both tourist inflow and boat activity in the area,'' he told this website's newspaper.
Now, the wildlife division has come up with scheduled timings for visitors willing to take a boat ride from Khola creeks to Dangamal which is infested with the crocodiles. ``They can avail of the boating facility only at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. every day. Only 20 boats will be allowed to the creeks every day now onwards,'' he informed.
For this purpose, the wildlife division has asked officials at Chandbali, one of the major entry points to Bhitarkanika, to issue entry permits only till 11 a.m. in the morning every day.That way, the inflow is controlled and it is easy to streamline the boating facility at Khola, Nayak said. Bhitarkanika can be approached from Chandbali, Dhamra and Rajnagar through boats but majority of tourists enter at Chandbali. The tourists who arrive at Khola have to take an eight-km boat ride towards Dangamal to sight the menacing crocodiles and majestic kingfishers. From there, the next point of attraction happens to be another four-km ride to Bhitarkanika trail and then to a heronry at Bagagahana, at a distance of two km. Nayak said since the Khola creeks were very narrow and were now inhabited by large numbers of crocodiles, the decision to trim the inflow was arrived at. The sanctuary was thronged by more than 25,000 tourists last year and earned a revenue Rs 5 lakh but wildlife officials now think the line that delineates booming eco-tourism from interference has to be drawn.The time between October and February is the peak season for tourists but the crocodile habitats are closed for visitors during the annual census. The next census will be held from January 8 to 14, 2004. Comment : Eco-tourism (which is largely unregulated ) is the new threat to India;s valuable wildlife treasure. It shall spell the doom of our endangered wildlife and their habitat. The classic case in Orissa is Bhittarkanika and Chilika lake where massive tourist inflows are affecting the wildlife populations. Similarly, tourist boats have killed 12 highly endangered Irrawady dolphins in Chilika lake. One can find hundreds of used polythene carrybags littering Chilika lake though though the State Pollution Control Board has banned their use in such ecological sensitive areas since the last one year !
The Khola creek is a narrow tidal creek where crocodiles love to sun themselves on the banks especially during winter. Unfortunately, their peace is disturbed by the noisy water pump engine fitted boats (no outboard motors ) carrying 20-40 gesticulating and shouting tourists . These large boats throw up a massive surge creating temporary flash floods by raising the water level by 2-3 feet through the narrow Khola creek. Mangrove seeds which float in the water and try to gain a foothold on the banks of the creek are prevented from regeneration. Allowing 20 such noisy boats in a single day when not a single should be allowed is sacrilege! The alternative route could be through the land when visitors could disembark at Nalita patia ghat and travel by cycle rickshaws (which could boost local earnings) . This is never preferred since the Chandbali boat owners would not profit much. Tragically, the forest department has expressed its helplessness in the face of the powerful tourist operator lobby.
We have been suggesting since the last couple of years that no entry of tourist boats of any kind should be permitted through Khola creek and secondly only country boats (without engines) in very limited numbers should be allowed for tourism inside the Bhittarkanika National Park. Have we declared our National Parks / Wildlife Sanctuaries for protection of wildlife or for growth of tourism ? For a paltry sum of Rs.5 lakhs annual tourist earnings in Bhittarkanika should we sacrifice our valuable endangered estuarine crocodiles ?
Biswajit Mohanty,Secretary
Wildlife Society of Orissa
Dated : 22.12.2003
Plastic-to-petrol formula works, says Indian Oil
A process invented by an Indian couple to convert one of the world's most polluting objects into its most sought after commodity, has been validated. The results of 11 experiments conducted at the Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC) R&D centre, at Faridabad in Uttar Pradesh, between July 1-10, 2003, have proved that the plastic-to-petrol process invented by Umesh and Alka Zadgaonkar does indeed work. The invention yields 40-60% liquid petroleum from a kilogram of waste plastic, which may include polyvinyl chlorides, the commonly-used polythene bag, broken buckets or PET bottles. The production cost is a mere Rs 7 per litre. The outcome of the experiments is of some significance for India, which produces 7,000 tonnes of waste plastic every day. Put simply, the Maharashtra-based couple's formula involves heating shredded plastic waste, which is free of oxygen, using coal and a secret chemical. The products thus formulated include 80% fuel range liquids, 5% coke and 15% LPG range gases. One kilo of plastic and 100 gm of coal churn out one litre of fuel, which contains the gasoline range. More processing, and Alka claims it yields refined petrol. The Zadgaonkars' invention was first reported in the media in June 2003. The couple refused to sell their invention to foreign companies, saying that they trusted the IOC. Alka is head of the department of applied chemistry at Nagpur's Raisoni College of Engineering and already holds two Indian patents. "We can use any waste plastic recycled any number of times," says Alka, whose patent application has been published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). However, it may be a while before the process yields petrol and diesel for commercial use. An IOC official maintains that while the fractionation yielded ready-to-use industrial furnace oil, production of gasoline required stabilisation additives and, in the case of petrol, the cetane number would have to be increased. A low cetane number causes ignition trouble, hampering the smooth running of an engine. While the Zadgaonkars invented the process and the catalyst that breaks long hydrocarbon chains of plastic into smaller segments of petroleum products, the IOC helped improve the liquid quality by minimising the diene content and lowering the high chlorine content. To further develop the technology, the state-run Oil Industry Development Board will be asked to fund a Rs 7.86 crore demonstration plant at Nagpur, where the Zadgaonkars live. "In the current scenario, plastic waste disposal is a 'cost centre'. The development of a useful technology can lead to the setting up of a commercial plant that can convert waste plastic management into a 'profit centre'," says an IOC source. The five-tonne-per-day pilot plant will be set up to implement product quality, study the effects of feed variation, establish possible outlets for the output, optimise process conditions and generate reliable design data for using municipal waste. "It is not an alternative commercial source for fuel but a proposition to address the emerging concern about utilising waste plastic and keeping the environment clean," says the official.
Subrat Singh
Foundation for Ecological Security,
PO Box-29, NDDB Campus,
Anand, Gujarat-388001 India
Ph:91 2692 261239/261402
Fax:91 2692 262087/262196
email:subrat@fes.org.in
Eco-tourism planned around Narmada
RAJPIPLA: The Narmada district collectorate is promoting the Sardar Sarovar dam and its surrounding tribal region as possible eco-tourism hotspots. At the heart of the project, also listed during the Vibrant Gujarat summit, is the dam itself. The plan includes the Ninaighat waterfalls in Dediapada-at a height of more than 30 feet and the Mat-Samot area at 636 metres above sea level as a hill station. "We already get nearly 1.5 l a k h tourists to the Sardar Sarovar dam every year," says collector D G Jhalawadia.
"With a little promotion, we can definitely attract about 10,000 tourists to the Ninai falls which anyway gets about 7,000, including school children," he added. He adds that the idea of developing the region as an eco-tourism destination came about during Chief Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Dediapada taluka in June. Impressed by the dense forests, he had suggested the need for a tourism plan. Among other areas that will fall under the plan are the Dev Mogra village, which organises one of the largest tribal fairs in February and the forest around Shoolpaneshwar wildlife sanctuary, known for its unique species of parrots apart from flying squirrels and leopards. Also included are the ancient temples and edicts like Hamuman temple at Kokam, Shilalekhs at Dumkhal and Kabirvad near Mal-Samot, with a banyan tree covering 3.7 acre area. The villages in Mal and Samot, situated 620 metres above sea level with abundant scenic beauty, too attract tourists throughout the year, say officials. The establishment is also trying to cash in on the Dev Mogra fair, held in the name of the tribal deity Panduri Mata during which tribals from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat congregate there. But the focus is on using locally-available and environment-friendly resources for all the projects.
"For instance, no cement has been used in the steps we have laid for going down to the waterfall. Instead, we have only used clay and straw," says Jhalavadia. The plan includes setting up basic infrastructure, including huts and drinking water facility so that people can stay there for a few days, he added. Even the tourist commercial area, which will cater to the accommodation, shopping and entertainment needs of the tourists, will use local resources as far as possible. "At present, the Ninai falls are seasonal and flow for only a few months after the monsoon has retreated. But we are hoping to stretch this a little by creating small check dams around the catchment area," the collector adds. Although the project put up during Vibrant Gujarat was a grand one, officials say that use of local resources will reduce the costs in the initial phase of developing the region. About Rs 19 lakh have been invested so far in the project.
Poachers kill three endangered Amur tigers in Russia's Far East
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (AFP) Dec 14, 2003
Up to three extremely rare Amur tigers have been killed over the last 10 days in Russia's Far East, further threatening the survival of a species on the verge of extinction, a local spokeswoman for the environmental group WWF said Sunday. While one incident seemed to be a case of self-defense, the second, in which two men killed a female tiger whose cub is considered to have had virtually no chance of survival, was clearly to be blamed on poachers, Yelena Starostina said.
"The inquiry showed that the female tiger, a young, healthy animal, was not behaving in an agressive manner and that, quite on the contrary, she was trying to hide from her pursuer," she said.
The poachers, who were arrested by the police, claimed they killed the animal to avenge their dog, which the tiger had allegedly killed. But Starostina said the real reason for the tiger's killing was greed, as an Amur tiger can fetch up to 15,000 dollars (12,200 euros) on the black market.
In recent years poachers who killed Amur tigers received only small fines, she added. Only 450 Amur tigers remain in the Vladivostok area. Poachers have killed at least 75 over the past 10 years.
In September a Russian expert warned that the Amur tigers, whose habitat is also shrinking because of deforestation, could disappear in 20 to 30 years. The proportion of babies among the Amur tiger population has fallen from 28.6 percent in 1997 to 9.5 percent in 2003, researcher Yury Dunichenko said, warning that the number was "insufficient for a stable reproduction of the species."
Coke told to stop using groundwater
In a major blow to soft drink major Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Ltd, Kerala high court on Tuesday directed the company to stop drawing groundwater for use in its bottling plant at Plachimedu in Palakaad district by January 16, 2004. The court also directed the Perumatty gram panchayat, under whose jurisdiction the cola plant is located, and the state government to ensure that the plant does not extract groundwater after the specified time limit. "Ground water under the land of the company does not belong to it. Normally, every land owner can draw 'reasonable' amount of groundwater which is necessary for its domestic and agricultural requirements. But here, 510 kilo litres of water is extracted per day, converted to products and transported, thus breaking the natural water cycle," Justice K Balakrishnan Nair observed while delivering the judgment on a petition filed by the panchayat.
Extraction of groundwater, even upto the admitted limit by the company, was 'illegal', the court held. The company had no legal right to extract this much natural wealth and the panchayat and the government were bound to prevent it. The court held that the groundwater belongs to the general public and the company had no right to claim a huge share of it. The government also has no power to allow a private party to extract such huge quantity of groundwater. The court allowed the company a month's time to enable it to find out alternative sources of water. It also made it clear that the panchayat should renew the company's licence if it was not extracting groundwater and was depending on other sources to meet its requirements.
Justice Nair also directed the panchayat to ensure that all wells, including borewells, of the company were closed down in a month from now. The judgement was delivered on a petition by the panchayat challenging the government order permitting the company to function despite the closure notice issued by the panchayat on the grounds of health hazards and over exploitation of groundwater. Controversy has dogged the plant following reports that toxic elements, including cadimum and lead, had been found in the sludge supplied as manure to farmers in the area.