INDIA (26 Dec 2001) -- The opening of nesting season for the Olive Ridley sea turtle along India's east coast has once again been accompanied by reports of an alarming number of deaths among these endangered marine creatures. The Wildlife Society of Orissa says that more than 1,300 turtles have been killed in the past few days, and that is only the beginning of a tragic annual ritual. "The death figure can only go up since unregulated fishing is rampant and more turtles are expected to arrive in the coming months," said a senior Indian wildlife official. The Olive Ridley Turtle is still the most abundant of all sea turtles, yet it nests at only five beaches in the world. It is a large species, weighing as much as 45 kg (100 lbs) and attaining lengths of some 75 cm (30 in). Olive Ridleys are found within the tropical and subtropical regions of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans, but the largest nesting area is on the Bay of Bengal located in Orissa, India. Every year as winter rolls around, the endangered Olive Ridleys move in large groups to three major nesting sites along the Orissa coast before returning to the sea. Over a million turtles made their ritual trek to the nesting sites to dig sand pits and lay eggs on these shores last year. Wildlife experts warn however that such seeming abundance can be deceptive. Hatchlings suffered from high mortality rates, with only one out of a thousand reaching adulthood. The evidence for the Orissa massacre points primarily to poorly regulated fishing practices combined with widespread trawler fishing along the Orissa coast. Every year, large numbers of the turtles are drowned after becoming trapped in fishing nets, or are slashed to death by the propeller blades of fishing trawlers. Pollution and poachers, who hunt the turtles for their meat and take their eggs, also take a toll. | |
Although protected under India's Wildlife Protection act, as many as 50,000 turtles are believed to have died at the hands of humans over the past five years. Nonetheless, the Indian government has been slow to move, often reacting with denial rather than action. In 1998, the Minister of Fisheries blamed the mass deaths on pollution and physical exhaustion from migration. Not much is known about the behavior of this turtle besides that it makes regular migrations to and from the nesting beaches during each year. During a typical day the turtle will feed during the morning hours and sun bathe at the surface of the ocean during the afternoon. The Olive Ridley Turtle spends most of its time within 15 km of shore, preferring shallow seas for is feeding and sunbathing. However this species is observed in the open ocean as well. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK |
