Garbage makes nesting difficult for Olive Ridley turtles

Nishanth Ravi, a volunteer with Student’s Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN), said that he recently saw a turtle laying eggs in a garbage patch during one of his regular turtle walks during the season, which starts from December end and goes on until April. 

“This is difficult for not only the turtle, but also the volunteers. Recently, we saw an Olive Ridley sea turtle nesting among the garbage. The volunteers had to pick out plastic waste and glass pieces, before accessing the eggs, which will be removed to the hatchery nearby,” he said. 

On Saturday evening, volunteers from Chennai Trekking Club (CTC), which organises regular clean-up activities during the nesting season, were picking up trash from the Besant Nagar beach. Hema Mani, a volunteer from CTC, said that glass pieces, plastic covers and Styrofoam composed a majority of the waste. 

“We had more than 60 people participating in the clean-up. We want to clear the space for the turtle to nest, especially near the hatchery,” she said. But, with the crowds that visit the beach on weekends, the beach was littered hours after the clean-up drive. 

“Just two weeks into the nesting season, we found 120 dead turtles in a 14 km stretch, mostly due to the trawling vessel injuries. Last year, 300 turtles had died during this period and the trend has us worried,” said Nishanth. 

He added the Fisheries Department should take strict action against trawl to ensure that the turtles and their hatchlings are not hurt.