Return of the turtles

The return of the tiny guests to the Versova beach in Mumbai is a small, but hugely significant, step towards the cause of ecology. It provides the much-needed boost to efforts put in by people in their respective fields locally and which tend to move at a snail’s pace. It was after a gap of 20 years that Oilve Ridley Turtles were found on the beach on Thursday (March 22). Along with forest officials, the local residents proudly escorted the 80 hatchlings of turtles waddle to the Arabian Sea. Their pride in bringing back the endangered species to the beach to nest and hatch is justified. The sea turtles have been declared as a Schedule 1 animal in the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. At long last, the concerted efforts of hundreds of volunteers, spearheaded by environment activist Afroz Shah, over the past three years to clean up the polluted Versova beach, seem to have paid off. The Olive Ridley Turtles normally lay eggs at places that are clean and where they feel secure. As several hatched Olive Ridley turtle eggshells were uncovered at the beach, it was confirmed that Versova had indeed become a turtle nesting site. 

Efforts for marine life conservation by the government, too, yielded good results earlier this month. One of the world's most important nesting beaches for Olive Ridley turtles, the Gahiramatha Marine Sanctuary in Odisha broke its 17-year record as a staggering 6.64 lakh Olive Ridleys laid eggs in its environs. Good news on this front was also reported from other coastal areas.

To keep the momentum up, government agencies need to enforce the protection measures strictly. The turtle eggs are prone to falling prey to predators such as dogs, jackals and wild boars. Fishermen need to be careful since trawl boats and mechanised fishing also take a toll on their numbers. Plus, the migratory behaviour of sea turtles makes them shared resources among many nations. Conservation efforts for their populations in one country may be jeopardised by activities in another despite the protection of the depleting species by international treaties and agreements, besides national laws.