<p>Compliance report by the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) in the matter of Goa Paryavaran Savakshan Sangharsh Samitee Vs Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority & Others dated June 12,
After a year's gap, Olive Ridley turtles have started mass-nesting at the Rushikulya rookery in Orissa's Ganjam district. On Tuesday night, around 15,000 turtles reached the beach. Their number grew to around 35,000 by Wednesday night, said A.K. Jena, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Berhampur. He expects more turtles to come in over the next few days, for congregations of thousands of turtles are waiting off the coast. It is the first episode of mass nesting of these endangered marine turtles on the Orissa coast this year. Mass nesting occurs regularly at the Rushikulya rookery, the Devi river rookery and the Gahirmatha beach in Orissa. But last year there was no mass nesting at the Rushikulya river mouth, where in 2006 it occurred twice. "It speaks of our limited knowledge about the habits and habitats of these marine turtles,' said Mr. Jena. Female Olive Ridleys can store sperms without fertilisation inside their body up to three years. Forest Department officials, experts from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Wild Life Institute of India, Dehra Dun, are monitoring the mass nesting. The 3-km stretch of beach where the turtles are laying eggs has been divided into 100-m segments. There are 35 sampling points within this area to record data on the reptiles reaching the coast to lay eggs. Fishermen have been requested not to fish in the region where the turtles are waiting in the sea. Tourists are also under strict watch to ensure silence and darkness on the beach, which are important factors for turtles, said Mr. Jena. Over the last four days, fishermen from villages such as Purunabandh and Gokharkuda are working as volunteers for the Rushikulya Sea Turtle Protection Project. They are helping protect turtles clambering up the sandy beach after midnight to dig holes with their flippers to lay around 20 to 30 eggs each. They cover the eggs with sand and venture into the sea by morning. Lying buried in sand, the eggs hatch after 45 days.
We write to thank The Hindu for the timely and well-informed editorial on the future of the Olive Ridley (March 3). Sea turtles are believed to have evolved at least 200 million years ago and the Olive Ridley has found mention in the Sangam literature (400 AD). But in recent years, the increased anthropogenic pressures on the coast are threatening to wipe out these ancient creatures from our beaches and oceans. Some steps that can be taken to protect the Olive Ridley are: making the use of Turtle Excluder Devices mandatory; implementing the restriction on trawlers in fishing; and enforcing the Coastal Regulation Zone laws on buildings along the coast. V. Arun, Co-ordinator, Students' Sea turtle Conservation Network, Chennai * * * The editorial has elucidated the alarming situation the endangered species is facing. To combat this precarious scenario, the government should allocate some funds as it did in the case of tigers. The forest department should plant more eco-friendly plants such as mangroves to offset the damage caused by the indiscriminate exploitation of the eco-system. Efforts should be made to impart awareness on the issue. P. Jyothiradityan, Palakkad * * * Not only do casuarina plantations and illumination but also nets used by local fishermen, mushrooming of aqua farms, industrial effluents, poaching of eggs, and oil exploration activities in the nesting sites cause the decline of the Olive Ridley. Besides the breeding ground, the feeding ground of the Olive Ridley also faces huge pressure, thanks to the overexploitation of species such as crabs, shrimp, lobsters, sea grasses, algae, snails, fish and other small invertebrates living within 150 metres of the seashore. If the same trend persists, Olive Ridley will become extinct soon. S. Sandilyan, Mayiladuthurai * * * The editorial was something that we, the turtle researchers, have been looking forward to. I sincerely appreciate the effort of The Hindu in highlighting the issue. Sea turtles have their own ecological role and are vital for a healthy ecosystem. It is highly pathetic that the Orissa coast has turned out to be a graveyard for the Olive Ridley. A. Murugan, Tuticorin
Endangered sea turtles such as the Olive Ridley have inspired campaigns to save the seas, sandy beaches, and dunes. To save turtles is to save an entire ecosystem. But this protected mascot species faces a rising threat from avoidable coastal development, the planting of exotic trees, and the illumination of beachfront dwellings. The building of coastal structures, including groynes and walls, blocks off access and exacerbates erosion; the planting of casuarina trees preve nts nesting; and lights along the coast confuse turtle hatchlings, fatally attracting them inland. Unless these threats are addressed quickly and scientifically, the Olive Ridley may lose its nesting habitats in the Indian subcontinent and suffer a sharp decline. For many years now, Olive Ridley deaths traceable to human interference have been high. Despite high levels of awareness, recent reports speak of a continuing tragedy. Indian Institute of Science ecologists fear that about 10,000 turtles die annually in Orissa, where they nest en masse. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh provide low or medium density habitats but they are vital to the health of the species. The planting of casuarina trees on the coast, particularly along the high tideline, is a man-made stressor for the Olive Ridley. Although the intention is to protect habitations from cyclones using a tree belt (as in Tamil Nadu), using an exotic species to create a barrier is at best naive. The outcome of massive tree planting on the high tideline on the basis of shaky evidence threatens to deprive the Olive Ridley of its nesting habitat, and many other species of their general habitat. Scientists at a conference organised in Tamil Nadu in 2006 by the Forest Department, the UNDP, and the Nature Conservation Foundation outlined such negative outcomes of poorly conceived interventions. Clearly, it is futile to attempt engineering solutions to make coastlines resilient to natural events such as cyclones and tsunamis: the ecological costs are just too high and the benefits uncertain. There is little merit in creating coastal casuarina plantations (which many fishermen do not favour around their habitations) and concrete groynes and walls (which accelerate coastal erosion elsewhere). The substantial funds available for such projects from multilateral and official agencies can instead be used to mitigate fundamental problems that affect ecosystem health: pollution, saltpans, aquaculture, and inappropriate constructions. A healthy future for the Olive Ridley and the rest of the ecosystem depends on providing active protection on the coast and allowing coastal ecosystems to regenerate naturally.
>> Mali's government has ordered the closure of 104 refined cooking oil factories across the country after an investigation revealed most of them don't have necessary equipment to produce
about 3,000 olive ridleys have died in various parts of Orissa since November 2007. The casualty was especially high
The turtle population of India is under threat because Bengal will not stop consumption of turtle meat. The charge was levelled at a meet by officials of the Wildlife Society of Orissa (WSO) on Tuesday. "Freshwater turtles have become extinct in Bengal in the past 10 years. Now, every turtle consignment seized elsewhere is headed here,' says Biswajit Mohanty, the secretary of WSO and a member of the government's National Board for Wildlife. The NGO works for the preservation of freshwater turtles in the Mahanadi basin.
The Costa Rican government has directed the protection of beachfront land in the province of Gunacaste, which holds nesting sites of critically endangered leatherback sea turtles, now numbering below
where do green sea turtles disappear soon after they are born? This question has been cause for scientific curiosity for long. New study from the us suggests the turtles spend their early period in
film>> The Right to Survive - Turtle Conservation and Fisheries Livelihoods
This study is concerned with the Dhamra port site in Bhadrak district, near the mouth of the Dhamra river, and surrounding areas. The proposed port site is a unique habitat in that it has long stretches of inter-tidal mudflats from the site up till the river mouth. The inter-tidal zone is in some places as wide as two kilometers, and serves as an important breeding ground for
