OLIVE RIDLEYS - ENVIRONMENT

News: Mass mortality of Olive Ridley turtles in Godavari region of Andhra Pradesh raises concerns

 

What's in the news?

       Hundreds of vulnerable Olive Ridley Turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) have washed ashore along the coastline between Kakinada and Antarvedi in the Godavari region during the ongoing annual breeding season on the east coast.

 

Key takeaways:

       The breeding grounds - Sakhinetipalli, Malikipuram, Mamidikuduru and Allavaram - have been witnessing the mass mortality of the turtles over the past few weeks.

       The effluents being released from the aqua ponds along the coastline and the discharges from the pipelines of the onshore oil exploration facilities are also blamed for the mass mortality of the turtles.

 

Olive Ridley turtles:

       They are the smallest and most abundant sea turtles found in the world.

       These carnivorous turtles got their name from their olive-colored carapace.

       They are well-known for their unique mass nesting known as Arribada, in which thousands of females gather on the same beach to lay eggs.

       They can grow up to two-and-a-half feet in length and weigh 30-45 kilograms.

 

Food: Mainly shrimp, crab, molluscs, fish and crabs.

 

Habitat:

       They can be found in the tropical waters of Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans.

       The Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary in Odisha is home to the world's largest sea turtle rookery (a colony of breeding animals).

 

Nesting sites:

       Rushikulya rookery coast (Odisha),

       Gahirmatha beach (Bhitarkanika National park)

       Mouth of the Devi River.

 

Protection Status:

       Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act,1972.

       Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

       CITES Appendix I.

 

Threats:

       Waste and marine pollution.

       They are extensively poached for their shells, meat, leather, and eggs.

       Plastic Garbage: A growing waste of plastics, fishing nets, discarded nets, polythene, and other garbage thrown by tourists and fishermen.

       Trawlers: Overexploitation of marine resources by trawlers often breaches the restriction not to fish within 20 kilometers of a marine sanctuary.

       Many of the dead turtles had injury marks, indicating that they had been trapped in trawls or gill nets.

 

Initiatives to protect the Olive Ridley Turtle:

Operation Olivia:

       Every year, from November to December, the Indian Coast Guard's "Operation Olivia" which began in the early 1980s, assists in the protection of Olive Ridley turtles as they cluster along the Odisha coast for breeding and nesting.

       It also detects unlawful trawling activity.

 

Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs):

       To reduce accidental death in India, the Odisha government has made the use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) mandatory for trawls, which are nets particularly built with an exit cover that allows turtles to escape while retaining the catch.

 

Sea Turtles in India:

           There are five species of sea turtles in Indian waters viz.,

1.      Leatherback - Vulnerable

2.      Loggerhead - Vulnerable

3.      Hawksbill - Critically endangered

4.      Green - Endangered

5.      Olive Ridley - Vulnerable.