Mass nesting of Olive Ridley sea turtles has started at Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary in Kendrapada district and near the Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam in last two days. So far 69,723 endangered mother sea turtles have laid eggs at the nesting beach of Nasi-II, said Rajnagar Mangrove DFO Bimal Prasanna Acharya on Friday.
“The mass nesting phenomenon would continue for nearly a week,” said Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary Ranger Subrat Kumar Patra. The sea turtles, which had skipped returning to Gahirmatha, the largest rookery in the world last year, arrived this year in droves, bringing much relief to turtle researchers and wildlife officials.
Earlier, the Forest personnel apprehended that the mass nesting might not take place like the past years at the Nasi-II beach due to its shrinkage. These endangered marine species had skipped the mass nesting trip to Gahirmatha last year, besides in 1996, 1997, 2002 and 2008.
Meanwhile, the Forest personnel managed to intercept 27 trawlers and arrested 187 fishermen within the Gahirmath Marine Sanctuary from Dhamra to Paradip during patrolling.
The bright lights from the missile test range at the Wheelers’ Island near Gahiramatha have been turned off and the security and patrolling systems have been tightened for the safety of the turtles, ranger Patra said. Mass nesting of the turtles also began near the Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district on Wednesday, though a bit behind schedule.
Wildlife officials witnessed sporadic nesting of turtles at Rushikulya nesting ground where around 1,200 female turtles were found to have laid eggs on March 1 night. However, the annual nesting affair was again witnessed late on Wednesday night when around 45,000 turtles laid eggs.
Wildlife experts have attributed the late arrival of nesting season to the slow wind speed this year. “The condition of the river bed as well as the climatic condition is very conducive for nesting. The mass nesting has started in time and we expect it to continue for next few days,” said Brahmapur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) SS Mishra.
Notably, the Rushikulya mouth is the second largest nesting site after Gahiramatha. The turtles thronged the coasts and were seen afloat along 1km from the beach between January last week and mid February. However, the number of turtles is less this year compared to the previous years. Around 1, 82, 000 Olive Ridley turtles laid eggs by the mid of March last year. This number is expected to dip this year, sources said.
Around 175 persons, including Forest personnel, wildlife activists and villagers were engaged for a round- the-clock vigil of the Olive Ridley turtles and their eggs. The safety measures would continue for next 50 days till the hatching takes place, the DFO said.