Gahirmatha Beach () is a beach in Kendrapara district of the Indian state of Odisha. The beach separates the Bhitarkanika Mangroves from the Bay of Bengal and is the world's most important nesting beach for olive ridley sea turtles. The beach is part of Gahirmatha Marine Wildlife Sanctuary, which also includes the adjacent portion of the Bay of Bengal. Location Gahirmatha is the only marine wildlife sanctuary of Odisha. This was notified as such in Government of Odisha, Forest & Environment Department Notification No. 18805/ F&E dated 27 September 1997 and published in the Odisha Gazette, extraordinary No. 1268 dated 17 October 1997. It is located between 86 degrees 45' 57" to 87 degrees 17' 36"- east longitude and 20 degree 17' 32" to 20 degree 45'58" - north latitude. The total area of the sanctuary is 1435.0 km2 which includes 1408.0 km2 of the water body and 27.0 km2 of land mass including reserve forests, mud flats, and accreted sandbars. The core area of the sanctuary consists of 725.50 km2 and the buffer zone accounts for 709.50 km2. The entire sanctuary area comes within the revenue district of Kendrapara. Olive ridley sea turtles The Odisha coast has the world's largest known rookery of olive ridley sea turtle. Apart from Gahirmatha rookery, two other masses are there where nesting beaches have been located which are at the mouth of rivers Rushikulya and Devi. The spectacular site of the mass congregation of olive ridley sea turtles for mating and nesting enthralls both the scientists and the nature lovers throughout the world. An event that took place in April 2017 validates this phenomenon. In this month, it was reported by forest officials that at least two lakh (200,000) baby olive ridley turtles have come out of their pits within a span of 24 hours. This news was received well by conservation societies and wildlife lovers. Events like these are expected to last at least a week at the Gahirmatha Beach. That rarity of mass congregation and the cruelty meted out to these innocent marine creatures, paved the way for declaration of the stretch of water body from old lighthouse near Batighar to Maipura river mouth as Gahirmatha (Marine) Wildlife Sanctuary. Olive ridley sea turtles migrate in huge numbers from the beginning of November, every year, for mating and nesting along the coast of Odisha. Gahirmatha coast has the annual nesting figure between