06-07-2021 | 18:06 PM
Operation Olivia
• Recently, the Indian Coast Guard has pressed into service an aircraft for ‘Operation Oliva’ to protect Olive Ridley turtles.
• Operation Olivia was started by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), first in early 1980s. This operation helps in protecting Olive Ridley turtles every year when they start nesting along Odisha coast for breeding in months of November to December.
• Olive Ridley turtles are listed as vulnerable under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Sea turtles found in India have been included in Schedule I of Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
• Their mass nesting is called arribada. Gahirmatha, Astaranga coast, mouth of Devi river, and Rushikulya are four arribadas sites off the Odisha Coast in India.
