Carcasses of over 150 Olive Ridley turtles and a bottlenose dolphin washed ashore were recovered by forest department officials in Puri.
The carcasses were found on a beach near Pantha Niwas.
The turtles come to Gahirmatha in large numbers, mouth of rivers Devi and Rushikulya in Odisha coast, for annual nesting, he said.
Though there is a prohibition on fishing in 20 km distance from the beach in these three identified places, the trawler operators undertake fishing illegally there, Behera said.
Noted sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik appealed to the government, through sand sculptures, to find out the cause of death of the turtles and also appealed to people for protecting these sea animals.
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