Fishing buddies- Dolphins at Chilka Lake Odhisha.

Fishing buddies- Dolphins at Chilka Lake Odhisha.

Elsie Gabriel

Bobbing up and down, circling the boats were dolphins! Wooooooo! With  bulging foreheads  and blunt, rounded heads they belonged to a rare species of dolphins alright. The fishermen kept looking out for them and their safety while showing them off. So where were we? In India, at the Chilka lake, the worlds second largest lagoon, yes in Orissa, now called Odhisha.

The motor boatman switched off  the engine out of sheer respect, and with equal mutual serenity, the dolphins would swim around in groups. We were lucky to catch a group racing each other endlessly but ours was a crazy chase punctuated by switching off the engine and then switching on the engine to catch-up with them and then again switching off….yes ….it was hilarious but fun. Watching dolphins without  disturbing them or getting too close had to be kept in mind. They are said to be part of the endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins.

In 1981, the Chilka Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. It is with pride that India boasts of such a richly gifted biodiversity hot spot at this world renowned wetland site.

The Chilka Lake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal. It is the largest coastal lagoon in India.

Satapada is where you will catch your tourist boat, which is located at a distance of 48 KM from temple town of Puri. It is nearly 100 KM from Bhubaneswar. National Highway (NH) number 203 A connects Satapada to Puri.

The lake supports fisheries that are the lifeline of the community. Mind you, the dolphins and fisherfolks are best buddies as they guide each other into fishing spots, a social phenomenon passed down from one generation to another, both for man and Dolphin.
I was happy to discover this unwritten mutual agreement which was the binding force between man and nature here. You should hear the boatmen whispering out of sheer adoration for these creatures, during the dolphin trips, once you are out at the mouth of the ocean,it is sacred ground for them.
It is also the largest wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian sub-continent. The lake is home to a number of threatened species of plants and animals. It was sublime for a  bird watcher like me, binoculars and camera and nature!
The lake is an ecosystem with large fishery resources. It is said to help sustain more than 150,000 fisherfolk living in the villages on the shore and islands.
The lagoon hosts over 160 species of birds in the peak migratory season. Birds from as far as the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Aral Sea and other remote parts of Russia, Kirghiz steppes of Mongolia, Central and southeast Asia, Ladakh and Himalayas come here. These birds travel great distances; migratory birds probably follow much longer routes than the straight lines, possibly up to 12,000 km, to reach Chilka Lake.

Sadly, greed takes a front seat when such a rich biodiversity hotspot is discovered. There are many threats to the ecosystem of the lake such as siltation, shrinkage of water surface area ,decrease in salinity and fishery resources, fights between fishermen and non-fishermen communities about fishing rights in the lake are also endless.

The rapid expansion of commercial aquaculture of prawn has contributed significantly to the decline of the lakes fisheries and bird population too.

It is feared that the lake may not retain the same ecological characters because of great human action constantly raiding the lake.

See the lake ,in all its natural wonder and genetic diversity, good time to visit ofcourse would be winter as it is very warm during the other months.

Talking to the local elders and fisherfolks with my half broken Bengali but well polished Hindi, a hectic mix of queries were well answered to my satisfaction. Fishermen recalled that when they would call out to the dolphins, to drive fish into their nets, the dolphins would oblige!! And this was a meaningful routine, year after year.

I kept wondering, each time they spoke with so much zest and passion, that if ever my grandchildren came back to visit, would the locals still be there or would the fishing village be transformed into multi storied iced fish storage complexes and corporate factories???

I pray that the Irrawaddy Dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) which is the flagship species of Chilika lake [and  the other bottlenose dolphins as well] stay on and multiply like our children’s children!

Well, If that doesn’t happen, tell your children that the Irrawaddy dolphins have a seemingly mutual relationship of co-operative fishing with the traditional fishermen.  Castnet fishing with the help of Irrawaddy dolphins is a social lesson we could well learn from, what say?