Despite deaths, Olive Ridleys are here to thrive; eggs collected to break record in TN
"The conservation effort, involving local fishers and forest officials, will ensure eggs are safeguarded until they hatch. With hatchlings already emerging, Tamil Nadu is on track for a record-breaking year in sea turtle conservation," she exuded.
Carcasses of Olive Ridleys on a shore near Chennai (file photo)
CHENNAI: Despite a poor start to the Olive Ridley nesting season in Tamil Nadu coasts, with hundreds of turtles trapped by illegal trawl fishing and perishing, before they could make it to the shores for nesting, the number of eggs collected along the coasts this season is set to overrun the previous year’s tally.
Supriya Sahu, secretary of the state Environment, Climate Change and Forest Department, said after a grim season marked by turtle mortality, Tamil Nadu's Olive Ridley nesting programme is showing strong signs of revival.
"As of now (Wednesday), 2,53,719 turtle eggs have safely been collected by volunteers and the Tamil Nadu Forest Department teams across the state; last year, a total of 2,58,907 were collected. With several weeks left until the end of the season, the department expects the number to surpass last year’s," she added.
As per the data, Cuddalore leads with 87,871 eggs, followed by Nagapattinam (73,385 eggs) and Chennai (43,900 eggs). The department has set up 55 hatcheries and more than 150 staff have been deputed.
"The conservation effort, involving local fishers and forest officials, will ensure eggs are safeguarded until they hatch. With hatchlings already emerging, Tamil Nadu is on track for a record-breaking year in sea turtle conservation," she exuded.
Shravan Krishnan of Students Sea Turtle Conservation (SSTN) said the mortality of Olive Ridley turtles have reduced drastically. "In Chennai, we have found a record number of nesting this year, could be the highest in the past 20 years. Nesting is high in Odisha too," he said.
Shravan noted that hatchlings are starting to emerge and will increase as the season advances, all the way till May.
During January and February, more than 1,000 dead turtles washed ashore after entangling in fishing nets. The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal then directed the state government to initiate necessary measures to prevent further deaths. Besides the efforts in place so far, the government is further contemplating declaring turtle congregation points as conservation reserves.
