‘Olive Ridley nesting season better this year’

This season was better, with more nests and more hatchlings released into the sea. On the stretch we patrol, which covers Neelankarai to Broken Bridge and from Pattinapakkam to Napier Bridge, we found 224 nests and 20,000 hatchlings were released. The initial part of the season caused a scare with close to 300 dead turtles due to trawling activity but after February, we started finding more nests.

The ground temperature has been increasing year by year, which is a concern. For reptiles, the pivotal temperature defines the sex. For Olive Ridleys, this temperature is 29.4 degrees Celsius. If it goes above that, all the hatchlings will be female. If it is below this number, then the hatchlings are male. Over the last few years, we have been seeing an increase in ground temperature. Though we are taking measures to keep the hatcheries cool, it is tough to control the ground temperature. We are letting the natural cycle to take its course.

The fishing ban, preventing motorised boats fishing within five nautical miles, has been of little use. The post mortem of the dead turtles conducted initially during the season by the Forest Department showed that the deaths were due to drowning, caused by fishing activity. We need the Fisheries Department to stringently monitor this. In addition to trawling, which is the biggest threat to the species, plastic is the second largest threat. In recent times, feral dogs have started attacking these turtles. We have treated a few such injured turtles and released them into the sea.