One of nature’s unique phenomenon, the journey of the Olive Ridley turtles covering hundred nautical miles to nest in the Indian eastern coast continues to face a series of hurdles.
According to a recent study done by a team of Dolphin Nature Conservation Society (DNCS) from November 2014 to March 2015, the number of nests spotted this season along the Visakhapatnam coast, which is one of the critical sporadic nesting zones, is down to 148 from the 183 nests recorded last year. The study, conducted on a 24-km stretch from Visakhapatnam Coastal Battery to Bheemili coast, has highlighted the increasing mortality rate and disturbed nesting behaviour of the Olive Ridley turtles. Majority of the nests were relocated and kept in the hatcheries maintained by the Forest Department in collaboration with local NGOs at R.K. Beach and Gudlavanipalem, as part of the turtle conservation project.
The statistics paint a grim picture about the future of the turtles, which are declining by more than 30 per cent globally with chances of only one in thousand surviving.
The DNCS study also revealed that a total of 89 dead turtles were spotted along the coast this year. The mortality rate was particularly high at Chepaluppada and Mangamaripeta. “At R.K. Beach and near the Submarine Museum, intensified nesting was observed. However, due to severe beach erosion many nests were washed away during the high tides,” Prof. M. Rama Murty, founder and president of DNCS told The Hindu . Another important observation of the study is that due to the loss of beach cover near Submarine Museum, the movements of the nesting turtles were affected.
Researchers say that the reason behind the disturbed nesting behaviour of the turtles is a combination of factors. The biggest cause of mortality of the Olive Ridleys, according to the study, is the incidental capture of adult turtles in gill nets and trawl fishing nets operated by mechanised boats. “Mortality due to illegal near shore trawling has been increasing each year causing the death of hundreds of turtles. This apart, human disturbances, artificial illumination along the coastline, heavy beach erosion, increased incidences of sand mining, sea water pollution and threats from crows, kites and feral dogs are the main reason behind this,” Prof. Murty said. Also, at R.K. Beach the nesting turtles were adversely hit by rock boulders which were placed to arrest beach erosion, he added.
ON THE WANE
#A team of DNCS conducts a survey from November 2014 to March 2015
#The number of nests spotted this season along the Visakhapatnam coast has come down to 148 from 183 last year
#The number of dead turtles found this year is 89
#Mortality rate is high at Chepaluppada and Mangamaripet
Owing to severe beach erosion many nests were washed away - M. Rama Murty, Founder of DNCS
