Chhatrapur: Even though the mass nesting of Olive Ridley marine turtles has started on Rushikulya and Bahuda beaches in Ganjam district their numbers have declined, and this has sparked concern among forest officials.
However, they have not lost heart and expect more turtles to join the mass nesting after March 18 as the full moon night falls March 21. This is because the sea will be rough due to high tides which take place a few days before full moon night. The high tides will help the turtles reach the beach.
Around 757 turtles have come for nesting till now, forest officials said. Meanwhile, forest officials have recovered 173 carcasses of the turtles which were later buried in the area.
This year the turtles are laying eggs on New Podampeta and Bahuda beaches, DFO Ashis Behera said. Earlier, they laid eggs on Gokharakuda beach near the Rushikulya river mouth. This year they have changed their nesting site.
The turtles usually lay eggs near Gokharakuda beach in Ganjam block, forest officials said. They think the turtles changed their nesting sites as they are finding it difficult to reach the beach due to the formation of small islets and sand dunes in the sea after the Titli cyclone.
The forest department has made elaborate arrangements for safe nesting of turtles at New Podampeta and Bahuda beaches. Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange held a meeting of forest and district officials regarding this March 2. Four control rooms and artificial hatcheries have been set up.
Sea patrolling has been intensified using speedboats and continuous monitoring is being carried out with CCTV cameras. Forest officials, local volunteers, marine police and fishery staff are keeping a close watch to ensure the safety of the turtles.
Sources said marine turtles start laying eggs in January. But this year, the process was delayed and turtles started laying eggs from February 26. In 2018, approximately 4.82 lakh turtles laid eggs on the beach.
PNN