In December 2022, the dolphin population in Bhitarkanika National Park’s Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary and surrounding areas slightly increased.
During the yearly census in 2022, there were 550 dolphins in the park, including six Irrawaddy dolphins, 281 bottlenose dolphins, 208 humpback dolphins, 52 striped dolphins, and three spinner types.
540 dolphins were discovered in the park in 2021, according to acting Bhitarkanika DFO Adhir Behera.
“We hired ten teams to count the dolphins. From December 21 to December 23, 2022, the dolphin census was done, Behera was cited as stating in a National News Agency.
Environmentalists, villagers, and forest guards participated in the exercise, which was held in the sanctuary’s and its surrounding territories’ waterbodies. GPS was employed by the enumerators to pinpoint the precise location of dolphins.
With a 33% increase, the Odisha coast has become a perfect habitat for dolphins.
To safeguard the critically endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles that reside at Gahirmatha beach, the state government designated Gahiramatha a marine sanctuary in 1997.
To protect the turtles, the state of Odisha annually bans fishing in the sanctuary from November 1 to May 31. The seven-month fishing prohibition also contributes to the preservation of the dolphin population in Gahirmatha.
Prasanta Patnaik