Other States - Orissa   

WWF claims massive salvage

Staff Reporter

An olive ridley turtle.

BHUBANESWAR : Orissa chapter of the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature - India on Thursday claimed it had rescued 116 nests and accumulated about 13,000 eggs of endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles in its hatchery near Gokhurkuda on Rushikulya river mouth.

"The eggs are now safely incubating in the beach along the mouth.

Volunteers have noticed four hatchlings coming out from the eggs," Chairman of the WWF-Orissa S. K. Patnaik here.

Unlike previous years, Rushikulya river mouth did not see mass nesting of Olive Ridleys this year, he said. Sporadic nesting starts on Orissa coast in October and November but it turns out to be mass nesting during February. The late nesting takes place between March and April.

Nests exposed

Mr. Patnaik said, "a few turtle came for nesting in ones and twos did come too late in March and April, when sea had already become rough and was eroding beach. Thus nests were being exposed and washed away."

The WWF-Orissa Chairman said the volunteers had rescued nests and relocated them to safe place under their watch and care. The international voluntary organisation has been involved in the conservation of sea turtle for the last three years by taking up activities such as beach cleaning, sensitisation of schoolchildren, fishing community and village elders of 12 coastal villages.

He, however, said mass nesting did not happen in a frequent interval since 1975. "Researchers have been working on this phenomenon for quite some time but are yet to come out with any satisfactory theory," Mr. Patnaik said.

The State has been witnessing increase in mortality of Olive Ridley turtle over the years. The sea turtles are often entangled in fishing nets like gillnet and mechanised trawlers and that lead to their deaths. Besides, natural predators such as dogs, hyenas and cows also consumed most of the hatchlings along the beach. About 90,000 turtles were killed in the last nine years.

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