Pledge and Cleanliness Drive for Horseshoe Crab Conservation : ‘Moon Communication’ Demands Sanctuary Status and Separate Budget for Horseshoe Crab Protection
Balasore, February 9 (Krushna Kumar Mohanty): A cleanliness and awareness programme aimed at the protection of the horseshoe crab was organised at the Mahisali river mouth by the leading Balasore-based organisation Moon Communication.
It is often observed that a large number of horseshoe crabs, which come to river mouths to lay eggs, die after getting trapped in fishing nets. Fisherfolk frequently discard torn nets in tidal zones where seawater flows in and out, causing many innocent and rare horseshoe crabs to get entangled and perish. In response to this concern, and at the call of Moon Communication secretary Abani Kumar Jena, local residents and members of the organisation including Muralidhar Mohanty, Jaladhar Behera, Parsuram Rout, Pankajini Das, Jitendra Das, and Debashish Pati participated in the programme. They carried out a cleanliness drive at the river mouth and took a pledge to protect the species.
On the occasion, Shilpi Keshudas, President of the Horseshoe Crab and Marine Biodiversity Protection Forum, addressed the participants. He provided detailed information about horseshoe crabs and administered the conservation pledge.
It may be noted that during her recent visit to Balasore, the Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, had referred to horseshoe crabs in her address. This has further encouraged voluntary organisations working for horseshoe crab conservation.
Environmental activists and organisations have now demanded that the river mouths in Balasore and Bhadrak districts be declared sanctuaries at the earliest.
They have also urged the government to allocate a separate budget for horseshoe crab conservation, similar to the dedicated budget provided for the protection of Olive Ridley turtles.
