VISAKHAPATNAM: In a bid to prevent the deaths of endangered Olive Ridley turtles and the eggs by human disturbance and stray dog menace this breeding season, the Forest Department has built four special hatcheries on the Beach Road along the Vizag coast. Every year, Olive Ridleys travel thousands of kilometres and reach the Visakhapatnam coast between November and March for nesting. However, many eggs are damaged and hatchlings die owing to human interference and stray dog menace. Last year, around 20 Olive Ridley deaths were reported from the beach road and already several deaths have been recorded this year thus far.
Apart from setting up the hatcheries, the Forest officials will deploy watchers at every hatchery who will take care of the eggs and hatchlings until the breeding season ends. Each hatchery will be manned by three watchers who will walk along the coastal stretch to check for the eggs and bring those to the hatcheries. The eggs will be kept buried in the sand at the hatcheries for 50 days, the gestation period for Olive Ridley turtles. This year, we have set up four hatcheries at a budget of `40 lakh while each hatchery was built at a cost of `40,000,” divisional forest officer (Visakhapatnam) Alan Chong Teron told TNIE.
As of now, he said, three watchers have been sanctioned per hatchery.
“As we need at least six watchers for each hatchery, we have sent a letter for approvals for the additional staff. Once we get the orders, the budget for the project will be increased,” he said. After construction of the hatcheries, the watchers will make arrangements for the nesting. As the Olive Ridley turtles arrive at the coast in more numbers from December, they will keep a watch on the premises throughout the night.
The hatcheries at VUDA Park and Sagar Nagar are vulnerable to stray dog menace. So the forest officials will try to collect the eggs from the coast as they are noticed and shift them to the hatcheries. Meanwhile, the environmentalists have sought the authorities to undertake initiatives to check the death of the turtle as they are prone to get entangled in the fishing nets which often results in their deaths.
Endangered turtles
Natives of warm waters in Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, Olive Ridley turtles travel thousands of kilometres to reach Vizag coast every year for mass nesting
Turtles have been recognised as vulnerable in IUCN Red List of endangered species
Breeding season starts from November and continue until March
Each hatchery along Vizag coast to be manned by three watchers
They will check for the eggs on the beach and shift those to the hatcheries
Turtle Interpretation Centre in RK Beach
The Forest Department is in the process of developing a Turtle Interpretation Centre at the RK Beach in Visakhapatnam to educate people on Olive Ridleys. As the Vizag coast is a crucial breeding area, the centre will have a museum where the life cycle, migration, threats will be on display. The centre will be built, in association with the Visakha Society for Care and Protection of Animals (VSPCA), which has been working for Olive Ridley conservation for more than a decade. “The construction works are being undertaken at a cost of H25 lakh and the facility will be ready by January. We are planning to rope in volunteers who can keep a watch on the Olive Ridley eggs,” said divisional forest officer (Visakhapatnam) Alan Chong Teron.