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The return of the Olive Ridley and other marine turtles is the achievement of active community movements along our coastline.
Tens of thousands of Olive Ridley turtles were reported nesting on the beaches of Orissa on India's east coast, on April 14, 1999. A significant count, because only a few years ago the Olive Ridley was endangered. The same year, 573 turtles were released from seven turtle nests on Galgibag beach, Goa. In Kolavipalam, Kerala, the number of Olive Ridley hatchlings rose from 3,328 in 1998-99 to 4,900 in the following year. India has five of the seven species of marine turtles: Olive Ridley, Loggerhead, Leatherback, Hawksback and Greenturtle. Olive Ridley is the most widely distributed. Its largest nesting sites are located along the Orissa coast. The marine turtle population has been subjected to pressures and is d! windling. Trawl fishing results in large incidental catches and mortality, turtle eggs are poached and their meat consumed along the eastern coast. In 1997-98, 13,575 dead Olive Ridley turtles were counted off the coast of Orissa. That sent shock waves through the world conservation community! India's turtle conservation movement began in Morjim, Goa, in 1995-96, initiated by Captain Gerard Fernandes and his wife. Captain Fernandes came back to settle in his village, Tembawado, after taking retirement from the armed forces. He was aghast to see the poaching of turtle eggs when the Olive Ridley came to nest on the beaches. Turtle eggs were being poached and the meat sold in the local market. The Fernandeses and some others began campaigning on the importance of conserving sea turtles and how they could become an additional tourist attraction. The release of turtles from protected nests in 1995-96 marked the beginning! of Goa's turtle movement. Their efforts brought in the active participation of the Deputy Conservator of Forests, C A Reddy. The department's participation boosted the movement the following year. The campaign for the Olive Ridleys then caught the attention of other local people, besides the villagers at Morjim, and of tourists. Local people benefit from tourism, but they maintain restraint on the beach -- not playing loud music, keeping the beach clean and keeping stray dogs away. The keenness of the movement has resulted in Project Turtle, which employs six youth volunteers on a daily basis to report hatching and nesting on the beach. A Turtle Study Centre has been set up at Pernem. In 1997 the Forest Department officially deployed two guards to patrol the beach in the nesting season. Meanwhile on the east coast, thanks to the Operation Kachhapa turtle conservation project in Or! issa, tens of thousands of Olive Ridley turtles came to nest on the beaches of Ekakulanasi in 1999. At Rushikulya, a coastal nesting site south of Ekakulanasi, another conservation centre has been set up. Operation Kachhapa has also lobbied with regional and central authorities to improve turtle protection measures. In Kerala, 8,000 villagers of Kolavipalam have joined the effort to save turtles. The Theeram Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi (Coastal Environmental Protection Group) was set up in 1998. Thanks to these efforts, the Olive Ridley will once again nest in peace. May its tribe increase. Contact: Biswajit Mohanty
Project Co-ordinator
Operation Kachappa
Orissa, India
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