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Cyclone Gaja derails migration pattern of Olive Ridley turtles
The Gaja cyclone which devastated the delta districts has not just impacted the lives of humans but also animals–marine creatures in particular, as the change in water currents has resulted in the change of the migration pattern of Olive Ridley turtles.
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Chennai
The coastal regions in Tamil Nadu are some of the hot spots where Olive Ridley turtles hatch a large number of eggs. According to the Forest Department, apart from Chennai, Nagapattinam, Dhanushkodi and Kanyakumari are other sites where these turtles hatch their eggs in large numbers.
In 2018, the coastal region around Chennai had witnessed the hatching of close to 20,000 eggs and 90 percentage of the hatchlings were released. Similarly, free from natural calamities, the coasts of Nagapattinam and Rameswaram had witnessed an increase in the number of eggs laid.
However, the situation is not similar this year due to cyclone Gaja that resulted in a huge change in marine atmosphere, modifying the migration pattern of Olive Ridley turtles.
According to activists, the number of eggs will decrease this year. Speaking to DT Next, Davidson, environment activist from Kanyakumari said, “The hatching season for the turtles begins in December and goes on till the mid of April but this year, the hatching commenced only in the mid of January.”
However, Rahul Muralidharan, a research scholar on Marine Biology from Chennai, said, “The cyclone may be one of the reasons for turtles skipping the coast but developmental works in the coastal areas is the primary reason for the reduction. In a few years, we will not see any turtles hatching eggs on Tamil Nadu coasts because of roads constructed in beaches such as the one between Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi.”
Olive Ridley turtles are one of the many marine organisms affected by changes introduced due to anthropological factors. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has placed them in the list of vulnerable animals.
Fishermen a threat to ‘vulnerable’ turtles
Besides natural calamities, Olive Ridley turtles face several threats in human forms– both from the fishermen as well as the Forest Department.
Many cases of these turtles being mutilated are reported in Rameswaram where fishermen cut the flaps of the turtles when they are caught in the nets. Though the officials from the Forest Department have warned fishermen, such incidents are prevalent as fishermen want to save their nets.
A Forest Ranger from Ramanathapuram district, on request of anonymity, said that currently, as the hatching season for Olive Ridley turtles is going on, a large number of turtles will come to the coastal areas.
“When the flaps are cut, the turtles cannot dig the pits in the beaches and so they return without hatching. If the eggs are laid in the sea they are of no use, as they don’t hatch,” he said.
The official also said that one such incident was reported on Sunday in Dhanushkodi when an Olive Ridley turtle was found without rear flaps.
The carcasses of these turtles are just buried in the sea shore without following proper rules. Even a few days back, on the Kanyakumari coast, a carcass of a turtle was buried in haste by a Forest Guard.
However, Sanjay Kumar Srivatsava, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, claimed that all the carcasses are disposed safely and there was no need for any hasty burial. However, the issue will be inquired with Forest officials in Kanyakumari, he said.
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