Chennai: With more number of hatcheries being set up by the Tamil Nadu forest department this year to collect olive ridley turtle eggs, the foresters are hoping for an increase in the hatchling rate this year, but at the same time number of nesting turtles being washed ashore along the coast of Tamil Nadu had also surged by several folds, admit foresters and conservationists.
According to an informed wildlife official, six coastal districts of Tamil Nadu - Chennai, Kancheepuram, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Nagapattinam and Ramanathapuram are witnessing the daily stranding of nesting turtles.
“Mama turtles are found dead all over our coast and the incidence had increased in Nagapattinam and Kancheepuram due to increased trawling activities since 2012”, said the official at Panagal building, the state forest headquarters. Now all the district forest officers of coastal districts are on the job tracking the turtle nesting season in coordination with NGOs and conservationists, but the death rate of turtles is alarming. On any day Tamil Nadu records at least 40 to 70 deaths of nesting turtles and this is an issue, the official said, adding and at times there are also mass stranding of Olive ridley’s clocking more than 100 in a single day, he said.
According to marine turtle conservationist Supraja Dharini the death rate of turtles had been on a surge in the recent years.
“We are witnessing the extinction of the local population right in front of our eyes within a span of 10 years and there is a need to protect sea turtles right now.
Andhra and Tamil Nadu forest departments have scaled up their drive to protect the nesting turtles, but the mechanized system of fishing is a global threat affecting the turtle population”, she said.
In Kancheepuram so far 291 nests have been identified and eggs harvested and in the past two months 124 turtles were found in the district, she said. Ms Supraja, who also works in Turtle conservation in the nearby Andhra and Odisha also admits that the death rate of turtle had been increasing across the Indian subcontinent.
