V Mayilvaganan The Times of India 7 Mar 11;
NAGAPATTINAM: Forest officials have collected a record number of Olive Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) eggs from the vast shoreline of Nagapattinam district. The turtle travel miles in the sea and reach Nagapattinam coast between December and April, search for nesting places, lay their eggs and return to the sea, leaving the eggs at the mercy of predators.
District Forest Officer K Soundarapandian said more than 10,000 eggs have been collected from the nesting sites along the coastline of Nagapattinam since December last year when the turtles started trickling down to the shore for safe nesting. This has been double the number of eggs collected in the past. "We have to conduct a detailed study to find out the exact reason for the steep increase in the eggs. But our preliminary assessment is that intensive collection of eggs and prevention of predators from preying on the eggs are the reason. Increase in the number of turtles visiting the coast could be one of the reasons,'' said Soundarapandian.
When the state forest officials embarked on a project to protect the eggs from human and animal predators in 2005, the forest department staff managed to collect just 680 eggs from the nesting sites in Nagapattinam coast. Only 452 eggs hatched and the hatchlings were let into the sea. There was a gradual increase in the number of eggs collected in the subsequent years and in 2009, the number steeply rose to 5,224 eggs of which 5,100 hatched. This year, in Vedaranyam range alone 5,200 eggs were collected. Olive Ridley turtles, one among the seven living species of turtles and a scheduled living being protected under Wildlife Protection Act 1972, visit the eastern coast of Tamil Nadu in Nagapattinam between December and April. Of the 180 km-long coastline of Nagapattinam, 140 km stretch is suitable for turtle nesting, say forest officials. Found in Indo-pacific and Atlantic oceans, the turtles face threat in the sea due to indiscriminate fishing activities as well as environmental reasons like global warming.
Every year, forest staff with the aid of villagers would identify the nesting sites and collect the eggs. The eggs would then be taken to the captive breeding centres for incubation and then the hatchlings are let into the sea. "On Saturday 127 turtle hatchlings were let into the sea," said a forest official. The official said the eggs take about 62 days for hatching. "In the next few days the eggs will begin hatching in huge numbers," he said.
