More than 100 marine animals stranded on beaches every year

According to the data collected by the Reefwatch, says that in the last six years the beaches of the two states have reported sighting of over 1,800 stranded marine animals including Sea Turtles, Pelagic Birds and Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises).

Hubballi: Around 150 marine animals get stranded on the beaches of Karnataka every year. Out of them, 50 per cent are found as carcasses. The majority of the animals to be reported stranded were Olive Ridley Sea Turtles on the 340 km of coastline of Karnataka.

According to the data collected by the Reefwatch, a non-government organisation which in collaboration with forest departments of Karnataka and Goa is providing marine veterinary service, says that in the last six years the beaches of the two states have reported sighting of over 1,800 stranded marine animals including Sea Turtles, Pelagic Birds and Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises).

Sources say reporting of stranded marine animals on beaches in Karnataka is comparatively low due to its secluded beaches. However, steady increase in networking and awareness among the fishermen is helping the forest department in rescuing, treating and releasing the aquatic animals back into their ecosystem.

Monsoon and the weeks preceding monsoons tend to have a high percentage of stranding due to entanglement in ghost fishing gear and drowning due to trawl nets. We have also recorded a number of plastic ingestion, parasites and infectious cases, says Shantanu Kalambi, Marine Veterinary Specialist and Project Manager of Reefwatch.

Human activities, including discharge of untreated sewage into sea, plastic waste, unregulated fishing activities in areas where fishing is banned, are some of the major reasons for marine animals getting stranded on beaches.

Data from Karwar division shows that since May 24 this year they have reported stranding of four turtles due to ghost nets. All of them were rescued and released into the sea.

“Over the years we have improved our information network and gained the trust of local fishermen, who have been informing us about the stranded animals. With the help of an NGO, our staff has been treating the injured animals and monitoring them. Once they are fit, the marine animals are released into the sea,” said Karwar Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) C Ravishankar.

Anthony Mariyappa, DCF Mangaluru says with the introduction of species recovery programme on Olive Ridley Sea Turtle, the forest department has been able to take local fishermen into confidence and address the stranded species effectively.

However, sources in the department say shortage of staff is hindering the conservation activities. Currently, the department has veterinaries deputed from animal husbandry department, who have been dealing with mammals, and not with marine animals.

“We need at least one marine expert in each of the division so that rescue efforts could be sped up, today we have one veterinary doctor for three-four divisions,” said one of the senior officers.