In a landmark move for marine conservation, the Odisha forest department, in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), has resumed satellite tracking of endangered olive ridley turtles at Gahirmatha marine sanctuary in the Kendrapara district after a 15-year hiatus, according to Odisha TV.in.The devices, attached to the turtles' carapaces using non-invasive epoxy resin and fiberglass, include GPS modules for precise geographic tracking, temperature sensors to monitor seawater conditions, and surface time counters to record breathing intervals. The data is transmitted to orbiting satellites whenever the turtles surface, providing real-time insights to WII's research center in Dehradun for analysis.
Gahirmatha is the world’s largest nesting site for olive ridleys, with annual mass nesting events known as arribada.Despite this, little is known about the turtles’ post-nesting routes or juvenile life stages. A 2008 tracking project revealed that some turtles migrated toward Sri Lanka, but it was halted due to funding and technological limitations. The renewed effort aims to identify critical habitats, foraging zones, and migratory corridors, helping to curb threats like fishing net entanglement, which kills an estimated 8,000–10,000 turtles annually in Odisha alone.Chief wildlife warden Prem Kumar Jha called the project a "historic milestone" for olive ridley conservation and shared the news on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). In his post, Jha highlighted the importance of the project in safeguarding the species and strengthening global conservation strategies. The data collected will support global conservation strategies and strengthen protection measures for the species.
