Zoological Survey of India move to save horseshoe crabs in Kendrapara and Balasore districts

KENDRAPARA: Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) of Kolkata has suggested that the habitats of endangered horseshoe crabs in Kendrapara and Balasore districts be declared as Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs).

Senior scientist and deputy director of ZSI Dr Basudev Tripathy said the Centre has been suggested to declare the horseshoe crabs’ habitats at Eakakula, Hukitola,  Madali  Agaranasi beaches and Barunei river mouth in Kendrapara district and  Chandipur, Balarangadi areas in Balasore district as Eco-Sensitive Zones for conservation and proper management of  the endangered marine species.

“Earlier, we had conducted a survey to ascertain the population of horseshoe crab  under ‘The  Conservation and Management of the Horseshoe crab along east coast of  India’, a project of ZSI. During the three-year long survey from 2015 to 2018, we visited  Odisha coast, Sundarbans, Digha and beach areas in Visakhapatnam and its nearby areas in Andhra Pradesh”, he said.

Two decades back, horseshoe crabs were found in large numbers along Odisha  coast but now the species is confined to specific pockets of the coast. 

The Ministry of Environment and Forests in 2009  had declared horseshoe crab as an endangered sea animal and included it in Schedule IV of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 which makes catching and killing of the crab an offence, Dr Tripathi said.

He said the lysate extracted from horseshoe crabs is effective against many diseases.