CHENNAI: Nearly 50 hatchlings were released 15 feet away from the high tide line in Neelankarai Beach in the early hours of Saturday. Also another 65 hatchlings had been released at around 11 pm the previous night.
This year, Sea Turtle Protection Force Members (STPF’s) have gathered nearly 351 nests along the Kancheepuram coast till date.
Each nest contains nearly 80 to 120 eggs. After 48 to 52 days, the baby hatchlings emerge from these nests and set off on their journey into the ocean.
Young local fishermen, who previously were turtle egg poachers, are now engaged as STPF members. They are the key players in monitoring nesting turtles, relocating eggs into hatcheries, providing protection from poachers and predators, and releasing lakhs of baby turtles into the sea. They are also involved in spreading the conservation message to community members.
“Our oceans are unhealthy and under significant threat from overfishing, pollution and climate change. It is time for us to protect sea turtles and rebuild their
populations to healthy levels as a vital step in ensuring healthy and resilient oceans for the future. As sea turtles are highly migratory, they need to be
protected at all life stages, whether as newly born hatchlings, nesting females, mating partners, foraging off our coast or migrating individuals,” said one of them.
