6,500 turtle hatchlings released into sea in Villupuram

CHENNAI: With the Olive Ridley nesting season coming to an end, district forest officials in Villupuram have successfully released 6,500

turtle hatchlings

into the sea over the last four months.

Sharing details with TOI, district forest officer S Anand said collection and preservation of sea turtle eggs began in 2014 with the setting up of two hatcheries in

Vasavankuppam village

near Marakkanam. An NGO was initially carrying out the conservation work before the forest department took up the task of collecting the eggs and incubating them. It was able to successfully release 74% of the hatchlings safely in the water that year, he said.

The next step was to rope in local fishermen, who were appointed as temporary watchers in the department. Using their traditional knowledge, the department further strengthened patrolling along the coast in the district. The fishermen were able to identify the ‘pilot turtles’ that come on a recce to identify nesting sites. After identifying the sites, these turtles lay eggs and return to the water, indicating the beginning of the nesting season. The fishermen watchers showed keen interest and even facilitated one of the injured turtles to lay eggs, despite the absence of two of its front flippers.

Due to the floods in 2015, the number of nesting sites along the district coast came down drastically. In the current nesting season, the first turtle arrived along the coast in December last year. The season picked up gradually and peaked in February. A total of 16,670 eggs have been laid by the turtles along the district’s coast this season.

With the support of the fisheries department, the forest department was able to create awareness among the fishing community, said Anand. “The greatest achievement of the department is that it has a strong database on egg laying turtles now. We found out that when the eggs are laid during December and January, they take 55 plus days to hatch. But if the same is done after February, then the eggs are hatched in 45 or 50 days,” he added.