As many as 1,83,497 Olive Ridley hatchlings were released into sea along the Tamil Nadu coast this year. The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has said that the number of sea turtle hatchlings released in 2022-23 was the highest in the last seven years.
Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Environment, Climate Change and Forests, said the Forest Department, along with volunteers and turtle conservation organisations, had set up 35 hatcheries across the State as against 22 last year. The increase in the number of hatcheries helped push up the number of hatchlings, she added.
The hatchlings released this breeding season, which lasts from January to May, marked a rise from 1,72,339 in 2021-22. The count has been above the 1-lakh mark since 2017-18, when 1,21,289 turtles were recorded entering the waters, barring a sharp drop in 2019-20 when 60,789 hatchlings were released.
