KARAIKAL: Over 30 Olive Ridley sea turtles were found dead along the Karaikal coast in a single day, with severe bleeding injuries on their bodies, raising concern just ahead of the nesting season.
Locals suspect the turtles were injured by ships and mechanised fishing boats operating near the private port before washing ashore.
The carcasses were found along the coastal stretch from TR Pattinam, Pattinacherry to the Adani port area. Residents said the turtles, estimated to be five to six years old and weighing between 30 kg and 50 kg, had injuries on their mouths, faces, limbs and bodies. The dead turtles were scattered across nearly five kilometres of coastline, with some lying barely 100 metres apart, and a foul smell was reported from the area.
People have urged the forest department to immediately remove the carcasses and intensify monitoring, as the incident occurred even before the peak nesting period of Olive Ridley turtles, which usually lasts from December to April.
The Karaikal incident comes amid a wider rise in turtle deaths reported along the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts. In and around Chennai, more than 100 Olive Ridley turtles have been found dead so far, including along Neelankarai, Besant Nagar, Kovalam and Injambakkam beaches.
The number is higher than last year, said Shravan Krishnan, senior volunteer of the Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network [SSTCN] and a member of the State Wildlife Board.
While entanglement in fishing nets and injuries caused by propellers of mechanised boats operating in restricted zones are recognised causes of turtle deaths, experts have also pointed to changes in sea currents linked to climate change as a possible contributing factor this year.
Olive Ridley turtles, locally known as 'Panguni aamaigal', are crucial to marine ecology and are known for returning to the same beaches where they were born to lay eggs. Conservation efforts by the forest department have increased since 2013, with hatcheries set up across coastal districts.
Official data show that while about 74,000 hatchlings were released during 2016–17, around 2.86 lakh hatchlings had been released up to May this year.
Despite intensified coastal surveillance and night patrols by forest staff and volunteers, conservationists have called for stricter regulation of fishing and shipping activity near nesting zones to prevent further losses.