Once known as a safe nesting ground on India’s east coast, a nearly 30-km long coastline in the Godavari estuary has been witnessing a sharp fall in the arrival of Olive Ridley turtles ( Lepidochelys olivacea) during the breeding season as large numbers of them are trapped by high speed fishing boats.
The entire rookery, including the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, is part of the rare and ecologically sensitive Godavari mangrove system. According to official data, 1,061 turtles arrived at the Godavari estuary in the 2018-19 breeding season (January-April), in which a record number of 89,172 hatchlings were returned to the sea. But the number of turtles arriving here started falling from the following season. In 2019-20, barely 640 turtles arrived at the estuary, and 2020-21 witnessed the lowest turnout of 471 turtles. In the ongoing season, 501 turtles have arrived so far and more are expected till mid-April.
“Mechanised boats equipped with speed engines beyond the permissible capacity are proving to be death traps for Olive Ridley turtles on the Andhra coast in recent years. The boats and their speed are the prime factors responsible for the death of the turtles along the coast,” Forest Range Officer (Wildlife-Kakinada) S.S.R. Vara Prasad told The Hindu.
