Saving sea turtles, one egg at a time

In Karnataka, the olive ridley sea turtles nest in the beaches of Uttara Kannada and Udupi districts; (below) a turtle hatchery at Kodi beach near Udupi. 

For decades, fishing communities in Kasarkod Tonka in Honnavar taluk of Uttara Kannada district hid from the outside world the visits of ‘divine guests’ to their coasts. Fishers feared revealing the identity could pose a threat to the visitors’ breeding sites on the beaches.

“We worship these olive ridley sea turtles as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Our ancestors knew about their visit during breeding season, between December and February. Neither did we harm them nor inform anyone,” says Ganapati Tandel, President of Freshwater Fishers’ Association, Honnavar.

When a private port to ship iron ore, coal and chemicals was proposed here by the government 10 years ago, they decided to reveal the nesting locations.

“Otherwise these sea creatures will be left with no ‘natal home’ to return to,” Ganapati says.

Now, fishers, along with forest officials, release olive ridley hatchlings into the sea in a grand event, after helping them incubate in a safe environment. The forest department officials barricade the nest and once the hatchlings emerge, they are released into sea.

Both experts and fishers say that building a port will have a cascading effect on the life cycle of these turtles considered “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

However, the efforts of local fishers in protecting the beach has not panned out as expected. According to a report prepared by a Chennai-based institute, submitted to the High Court of Karnataka, coordinates of the turtle nesting sites fell in the middle of the sea instead of these beaches. This led to the dismissal of a plea filed by the fishermen to stall the port.

According to communication within the forest department which is accessed by DH, officials have now decided to file a fresh plea in the court. Fresh coordinates are also being collected to prove that these turtles lay their eggs between Tonka and Apsarakonda, near the proposed port.

In fact, Haldipur and Kasarkod beaches, which are located on this stretch, have reported the highest number of olive ridley nests in recent years.

Breeding sites

While thousands of these turtles make their nests in the Gahirmatha beach in Odisha, a sizeable number of turtles also make their
way to the coasts of Devbagh and Kodibag
near Karwar, Gangavali beach near Murdeshwar, Kagal in Kumta, Haldipur and Kasarkod in Honnavar and Monki beach in Batkal taluk, of Uttara Kannada district. There are also reports of these turtles making their nests in Baindur and Kodi beach in Udupi district.

“Olive ridley sea turtles prefer deserted beaches to lay their eggs. They sneak on to the beach in wee hours of night, dig sand, lay 100 to 300 eggs, close the pit and return to the sea,” says Prakash Mesta, a conservationist and marine researcher who has been monitoring the life cycle of these turtles for the last two decades.

According to Mesta, various factors determine why a turtle selects a particular place for nesting. Once there is a port, high and bright lights burn all through the night which prevents turtles from visiting. The construction of roads and railway tracks next to the beach also disturbs nesting patterns.

“If the port is set up here, these creatures may never return to these shores again,” Mesta says.

Researchers say that sea turtle conservation is as important as conserving tigers on land. Marine scientist Dr Annie Kurian who has studied sea turtles in the country says these mesopredators play a crucial role in maintaining marine ecology.

“Sea turtles feed on a variety of food, and a good portion of their diet includes jelly fish. A decline in turtle population would mean uncontrolled increase in the population of jelly fish. This can cause a major decline of fish larvae leading to a cascading effect on the phytoplankton, which produce 70% of the earth’s oxygen,” she says.

Every egg counts

Dr Annie says every egg of the olive ridley sea turtle needs to be conserved as their survival rate is very less. “Only 10% of hatchlings become adults and return to the shores. They are prey to dolphins, birds and other sea creatures.”

In 2004, Dr Annie collected over 2,000 eggs of the olive ridley sea turtles with the help of the forest department, to incubate them in specialised hatcheries in Devbagh and Apsarakonda. She released them after they grew to a certain size and became less vulnerable.

“Olive ridley turtles are known for natal homing. The hatchlings get geo-magnetic impressions of their place of birth and tend to return to their birthplace to lay eggs. And if beaches are disturbed, their entire life cycle can get disturbed,” she says.