CHENNAI: The state forest department has secured a record 2.6 lakh Olive Ridley turtle eggs, the highest in the last six years, during this ongoing nesting season.
Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Chennai and Villupuram are witnessing brisk nesting with the department working hard to provide maximum protection to the eggs. The case of Chennai is particularly heartening, since the district had reported mass mortality of Olive Ridleys in January. Around 1,200 turtles were beached ashore dead in a short period of time, ringing alarm bells.
As per the official data available with the TNIE, over 48,000 eggs were collected from Chennai till date. The nesting will go on till mid April, so the eggs count will easily cross the 2021-22 record of 55, 713. According to the official data, Cuddalore has reported highest nesting with egg count inching closer to 88,000 followed by Nagapattinam with 73,000.
The forest department has established three hatcheries in Chennai wildlife limits - Pulicat, Besant Nagar and Neelankarai. Out of the total, 80% eggs are collected from Marina and Besant Nagar beaches. Speaking to TNIE, Chennai Wildlife Warden Manish Meena said, “Due to high nesting, we had to extend the area of Besant Nagar hatchery and it also got full. Now, we are building a second hatchery.”
Shravan Krishnan, a volunteer and member of Tamil Nadu State Board for Wildlife said, “In Besant Nagar hatchery alone, we secured 330 nests. On a daily basis, we are receiving 10-15 nests on an average. We have not seen this rise in numbers in the past.”
Noted turtle expert R Suresh Kumar from Wildlife Institute of India (WII) told TNIE there are some years where Olive Ridley turtles come for nesting in spectacular numbers all along the east coast. “Definitely, multiple environmental factors are at play like quality of foraging grounds, ocean currents etc.
Currently, I am leading a pan-India sea turtle population assessment study, which will conclude by the end of this nesting season and create a baseline data. Then, we can observe the nesting for next few years and understand what factors and conditions are influencing Olive Ridley turtle nesting.”
With regards to initial high mortality in Chennai, Kumar said these are site specific problems and must be addressed accordingly. “I had a detailed discussion with senior officials from the Tamil Nadu forest department. Before the start of next nesting season, we will identify and map the turtle congregation sites, thereby ensuring adequate protection measures are taken like use of turtle excluder devices.”