A huge oil spill has washed up on the Rushikulya river mouth in Orissa on 12th April morning. The heavy oil slick is now floating near the beach and some of it has washed ashore on the sea turtle nesting beaches at Gokharkuda and Kantigada, where more than 1,00,000 endangered olive ridley sea turtles nested last month. The oil has entered Rushikulya river, and it could also threaten Chilika lake, since the Palur canal connects the river with the lake.
Fishermen who had gone out to sea early this morning first reported the oil clogging their nets; they had to return empty handed. The Coast Guard has reached the spot, and it appears that the oil is leaking from the fuel tanks of a ship called "Malavika" which was on its way to Gopalpur Port.
There are fears that the oil spill will do irreversible damage to the sea turtle population which are still present in the offshore waters, and to the turtle eggs that have been laid on the beaches. Marine fauna, on which the fish catch of local communities depend and which are also food for the sea turtles, will be severely affected. The oil can be ingested by the turtles leading to their death and the critically endangered dolphins of Chilika lake might also be affected by the oil. The oil spill has to be urgently contained and collected from the place so that there is no adverse effect on the marine fauna or the turtle eggs.
Information courtesy :
Mr.Biswajit Mohanty, Secretary of the Wildlife Society of Orissa &
Ms.Belinda Wright, WPSI
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