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WHEREAS India has historically supported the largest world-wide nesting site of the olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) at Gahirmatha Beach (Bhitarkanika Sanctuary) in Orissa; and,

WHEREAS Gahirmatha Beach represents one of only four remaining mass-nesting beaches for this species in the entire world and is the only such site in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans; and

WHEREAS actions of the Orissa State Government to develop a major shrimp fishery at the Port of Talchua threaten migratory breeding populations of this species at Gahirmatha Beach; and,

WHEREAS the incidental capture of sea turtles by shrimp fishing fleets has been demonstrated to be especially destructive to sea turtle populations, and various other human activities, especially egg poaching, have for many years adversely affected sea turtles; and,

WHEREAS for the foreseeable future the Madras hatcheries for the olive ridley serve to mitigate some of the damage caused to populations by egg poachers; and,

WHEREAS the sea turtles of the world are an international resource that in the course of their lives travel in and out of sovereign waters of many nations and into international waters; and,

WHEREAS these nations, most recently Mexico, have developed and are vigorously enforcing conservation programs for this and other sea turtle species to maintain this sustainable economic resource in accordance with guidelines of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES);

THEREFORE, be it

RESOLVED that the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR) and The Herpetologist's League (HL), internationally professional scientific societies devoted to the study of amphibians and reptiles, strongly encourage the Government of India to give serious consideration to relocating the proposed Talchua shrimp fishery to existing facilities at Paradeep and/or Dhamara; and, be it further

RESOLVED that these societies strongly encourage India's government to require and enforce the use of Turtle Excluder Devices by all shrimp trawlers; and, be it further

RESOLVED that these societies strongly encourage India's government to work with the Government of Orissa to preserve the Gahirmatha Beach nesting site and develop eco-tourism to it to bolster the Orissa economy; and, be it further

RESOLVED that these societies strongly encourage India's government to continue the sea turtle hatchery management programs at Madras; and, be it finally

RESOLVED that these societies strongly encourage India's government to develop and enforce vigorously laws to halt egg poaching at sea turtle nesting sites.

Resolution adopted unanimously by the SSAR and HL, 25 April 1994.