
CHENNAI: With Olive Ridley deaths hitting record numbers this year, Chief Secretary N Muruganandam chaired a high-level meeting on Tuesday with top officials of various departments, including forest, fisheries, Indian Coast Guard, marine enforcement police and the coastal security group, to discuss steps to be taken to protect the critically-endangered species.
According to sources, a decision was taken to prepare an action plan jointly by the departments of fisheries and environment, climate change and forests to address the problem.
So far, close to 600 turtles have washed ashore dead in and around Chennai alone, with nearly 20 fresh carcasses being found between Marina and Kovalam on Tuesday morning.
Sources told TNIE that the chief secretary pulled up officials, especially from the fisheries department, regarding their collective failure in implementing fishing regulations and mandatory use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in trawl nets, which is suspected to be the primary cause for the deaths of the turtles.
“The mass death of turtles has come at a time when the TN government led by Chief Minister M K Stalin has introduced several initiatives for conservation of marine life such as establishing India’s first dugong conservation reserve in Palk Bay,” an official said.
Failure to enforce use of turtle excluder a concern
“This is being viewed very critically by the government. Forest Minister K Ponmudi also reacted sharply to the issue during the monthly DFOs meeting held in Villupuram on Monday,” the official added.
During the meeting chaired by the chief secretary, the forest department reported that most of the turtle carcasses washed ashore showed no external injuries, and drowning has been identified as the primary cause. Bulging eyes and swollen necks — a clear indication of asphyxiation — were observed in majority of cases.
These deaths have been attributed to entanglement in fishing nets, especially those deployed by mechanised trawlers operating in prohibited zones.
Though the Tamil Nadu Marine Fisheries Regulation Act, 1983, prohibits mechanised fishing within five nautical miles, violations persist.
Illegal trawling activity, often involving high-speed vessels equipped with powerful and unauthorised Chinese engines, have become a threat to migrating turtle populations during the nesting season, sources said.
A key focus of the discussion was the failure to enforce the mandatory use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs), which allow turtles to escape from trawl nets while retaining the catch.
Although the fisheries department had promised to ensure the mandatory use of TEDs as part of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) submitted to the Madras High Court in 2017, compliance remains poor. Fishermen continue to operate without these devices, largely due to inadequate awareness campaigns and weak enforcement. Joint patrolling efforts by the fisheries department, forest department, coastal security group and Indian Coast Guard — as mandated by the SOP — have been infrequent and ineffective.