The Hindu : Dead Olive Ridley turtles washed ashore

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 09, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

Dead Olive Ridley turtles washed ashore

By P. Oppili

CHENNAI FEB. 8 . More than a dozen adult Olive Ridley turtles were washed ashore dead, along the Marina and Elliot beaches during the last fortnight, sending shockwaves among conservationists and marine researchers.

They were washed ashore, after accidentally hitting the propellers of deep-sea trawlers, which caused injuries to the turtles, resulting in their death.

According to a fisherman, Selvam of Nochikuppam, he sighted at least 15 dead Ridleys washed ashore behind the Gandhi Statue on the Marina during the past fortnight. Similarly, on the Elliot's Beach, Besant Nagar, P. Mohan, a local resident, had seen three dead turtles. All the dead ones were female Ridleys and they sustained injuries, while heading to the shore for laying eggs, say researchers.

Today, two female turtles were found dead on the Marina beach, measuring 3.6 feet and 3.3 feet. Their weight was in the range of 40 kg to 50 kg.

Normally the nesting season begins in November and continues till February. Change in climatic conditions will lead to extension of the nesting period. Interestingly, male turtles do not come to the shore due to which their survival in the wild is not as threatened as that of females, according to the researchers.

Normally, a female lays more than 100 eggs in a clutch and the hatching period ranges between 45 and 60 days, depending upon the humidity in the sand. Only one in 3,000 eggs attains maturity and comes back to the same shore for laying eggs. The female Ridleys have a remarkable quality of returning to the same shore to lay eggs, where they originally got out of their shell.

Unlike in Orissa and West Bengal, where the sea turtle meat and shell are sold for a prize, the south Indian fishermen actually help the Ridleys to get back to the sea.

On the Marina, the local youth have tied nylon ropes to the washed ashore Ridleys with a view to pushing them back into the sea.

The world over, different opinions prevail among conservationists and researchers with regard to hatching of sea turtle eggs. Researchers argue in favour of not disturbing the clutches, which otherwise affect the male-female ratio. For example, if 120 eggs are found in a clutch and shifted from the place of hatching to a new place, the temperature change at the new place may result in the whole lot being all male or all female which is detrimental to the wild population. However, naturalists feel that shifting the eggs from their original place will help in increasing the Ridley population.

Intensified research on basic biology, reproduction, nesting cycles and pathways of migration of the Ridleys has to be taken up immediately, says the Officer-in-Charge of the Zoological Survey of India, K. Venkataraman. Strengthening the national policy on sea turtles, long-term monitoring of breeding population, proper training on hatchery management, establishing a turtle protected area and survey and monitoring of potential nesting grounds will help in protecting the sea turtles, he says.

Extending protection to the sea turtles will have a direct bearing on the fishermen as they help in maintaining an ecological balance among the marine life, add researchers.

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