The Forest Department as well as volunteer groups are preparing the city’s beaches for the safe nesting of endangered Olive Ridley turtles that swim into the city’s beaches this time of the year.
A host of beach clean ups are being taken up and hatcheries are already in place in the city’s several beaches. Then there will be the ‘Turtle Walks’ for the public after Pongal, organised by NGOs involved in the conservation of the Olive Ridley species.
C. Murugesan, range officer with the Forest Department in Chennai, said that they had put up their hatchery near the broken bridge in Besant Nagar.
“The fishermen have been telling us that they have been seeing movement of turtles and we are ensuring that they are protected during the nesting season,” he said.
The TREE Foundation, an NGO which has been involved in turtle conservation, has already set up its hatcheries and volunteers have been patrolling the beaches from Neelankarai to Alamparai.
“We have already found five nests and are hoping that the nesting season is better this year. Last year, we noticed lesser activity,” said Supraja Dharini, its founder.
Many volunteers said that 2016 was extremely dull for nesting activity by the Olive Ridleys along the coastline in Chennai and Kancheepuram districts.
“Despite theories regarding climate change and a change in sea currents, we were not able to pinpoint the reason for the drop in nests we found. This year, fishermen said they have been seeing turtles in the coastal waters from October. So we are hoping that it is a good season,” said Akila Balu of Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN).
Conservationists have also appealed to the fishermen to use Turtle Excluder Devices in the fishing nets to ensure that the turtles are in no way harmed.
Volunteers like Shravan Krishnan would join with the public in organising beach clean ups from this weekend.
Chennai Trekking Club will playing its part in this initiative.
“While it is impossible to clean the entire 14-km stretch, we have mapped points where a lot of nesting activity usually takes place and they will be cleaned up. Last year, this proved to be a mammoth task following the garbage that littered the shore post the December 2015 floods,” he said.
