UPSC Articles
Operation Oliva for Olive Ridley Turtles
Part of: GS Prelims and GS -III – Conservation
In news
- Recently, the Indian Coast Guard has pressed into service an aircraft for ‘Operation Oliva’ to protect Olive Ridley turtles.
What is Operation Oliva
- It was initiated in the early 1980s
- Every year, Operation Olivia helps protect Olive Ridley turtles as they congregate along the Odisha coast for breeding and nesting from November to December.
Olive Ridley Turtles
- These are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world.
- They are carnivores
- They migrate thousands of kilometers between feeding and mating grounds in the course of a year.
- They are best known for their unique mass nesting called Arribada, where thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs.
- Habitat:
- They are found in warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
- The Odisha’s Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary is known as the world’s largest rookery of sea turtles.
- IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
- CITES: Appendix I
- Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
Other Initiatives
- To reduce accidental killing in India, the Odisha government has made it mandatory for trawls to use Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs), a net specially designed with an exit cover which allows the turtles to escape while retaining the catch.
Source: Olive Ridley Project
