A female Olive Ridley turtle, rescued by Tree Foundation, was released into the sea on Saturday last.
The turtle, Nisha, was taken in a boat four kilometres offshore from Periya Neelankarai, a fishing hamlet on East Coast Road, and released near a rock formation where a wide variety of prey fish are found.
On February 21, Tree Foundation received a call from Nishanth, a volunteer of Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network, that a turtle had been washed ashore on Santhome Beach.
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The sub-adult Olive Ridley turtle had been entangled in a trawler net, suffering deep cuts in its flippers, neck and plastron.
The turtle was taken to Madras Veterinary College, Vepery, to be examined for any internal injuries. She was named Nisha (as she was found by Nishanth, and named after him). In the month of May, the rehab team identified that she wasn’t using her right front flipper to the fullest.
On further investigation by Dr. J. Prakash, a veterinarian, it was found that a small piece of shell was embedded in her cut wound on the right flipper, which was removed surgically to ease her movement.
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For the next 6 months, with the support of volunteers, Nisha was helped towards complete recovery. Nisha was fed with a variety of fresh sea food by volunteers from the fishing community.
V. Prabhakaran, I.F.S, Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife Squad-Northern Tamil Nadu, said,
“For a successful conservation, all stakeholders related to the species should come together. The Forest Department, Wildlife Wing, Fisheries Department, Coastal Security Group and the Coast Guard and the community should play a major role.”
Dr. Supraja Dharini, chairperson, Tree Foundation said, “Through our 13 years of conservation efforts, we have seen fishermen along Chennai and Kancheepuram coast turning into guardians of the sea. We have seen them break out of superstitions. These fishermen once believed bringing turtles on their boats would bring bad luck. Not anymore.
We have seen community members empowering each other in order to protect sea turtles.” But there is still a need to sensitise the fishermen along the southern coast of Tamil Nadu, where the threat to sea turtles is great, she pointed out.
For details, contact Tree Foundation at 94443 06411, treerootsandshoots@gmail.com