New Delhi/ Chennai: Chennai residents have been waking up to a grim sight over the last few weeks. The carcasses of over 1,000 Olive Ridleys—the smallest sea turtle species in the world—have washed up along the city’s sandy seashores and are now rotting under the harsh sun. Stray dogs and crows have been making a meal of the endangered species.
According to wildlife experts, this is the first time in decades that such mass deaths of Olive Ridley turtles have been reported from Tamil Nadu’s shores. The last time was more than a decade ago when, in 2014, the toll during breeding season rose to 800 along Chennai’s shores alone.
Officials in the Tamil Nadu forest and fisheries departments pointed to the illegal trawling within the prohibited 5 nautical miles as the main reason for these deaths. With unlicensed fishing growing unchecked, while such deaths are not uncommon, they have been particularly pronounced this year with the carcasses washing ashore, according to experts and conservationists.
Fishing boats have increasingly begun traversing close to the coast to increase their catch, and, in the process, the large nets and metal cages attached to them have blocked the nesting routes of the turtles and stopping them from reaching the shores in time to breathe.
Senior officials from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) explained that fishing laws in India prohibit fishing activities within 8 to 10 km of the coast.
“The Olive Ridleys need to come to the sea surface to breathe. But when illegal fishing trawlers operate too close to the coast, it traps the turtles, who cannot come up in time and eventually drown to death,” an MoEFCC official told ThePrint.
The initial autopsy reports, according to Chennai-based environmentalist S. Selvarajan, have indicated that the probable cause of the deaths could be drowning. “Some of the turtles had lesions in the lungs. Some also had bulging eyes and swelling on their necks, also indications of drowning.”
While the baby turtles can hold their breath underwater for nearly 45 minutes, fishing cages and nets cast too close to the shore can trap them in water.
The mass deaths are not limited to Tamil Nadu. According to Andhra Pradesh government estimates, another 3,000 Olive Ridleys have also been found dead. The turtles have washed up around the coasts of Bapatla, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Sullurpeta. The office of the special chief secretary of the department of fisheries refused to comment on the deaths.
In Tamil Nadu, the mass deaths this season have pulled government and conservationists into action. Apart from issuing stern warnings, surveillance near coastlines has also been increased to keep a check on overfishing and unlicensed fishing activities.
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Tamil Nadu government up in action
To tackle the crisis, the Tamil Nadu forest and fisheries departments held a joint meeting on 26 January and set up a task force.
In the meeting, the fishermen in the coastal region of Chennai were warned that the Tamil Nadu government would cut down subsidies if the trawl boats were found operating without using turtle excluder devices.
The turtle excluder devices—metal grids attached to the bottom of the boats—prevent sea turtles from getting caught in fishing nets. They have been made mandatory since 2017.
A joint team from the forest and fisheries departments also started to crack down on illegal trawling. According to the officials in the forest department, over 30 boats have been caught fishing within the prohibited zone of 5 nautical miles.
“Task force consisting of officials from the fisheries and forest departments conducted joint patrolling from Kasimedu to Thiruvanmiyur and spotted over 30 trawler boats. Since they were found for the first time, they have been fined Rs 5,000,” a forest department official told ThePrint.
According to the officials, if the fishermen are caught in the same region again, their boats will be confiscated.
While the Tamil Nadu government estimates more than 1,000 Olive Ridleys have died along the Chennai seashore alone, the forest and fisheries departments have yet to ascertain the exact number of deaths.
“We have also requested the animal husbandry department to send their veterinarians to conduct the postmortem since the death numbers keep increasing,” the forest department official quoted above said.
The forest department has also urged the Indian Coast Guard to increase the patrolling in the 5 nautical miles region.
The Union government is also in the process of taking action. “We are also planning to initiate actions such as cutting the subsidy for their fuels for violating the Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing Regulation Act,” the MoEFCC official quoted above said.
The MoEFCC has also sought a report from the Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh governments detailing the cause of deaths and the actions they have taken so far.
Additionally, the southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken suo motu cognisance of the deaths and has reprimanded the two governments for inadequate action against errant fishermen.
Violations and conservation efforts
Fishing violations are the biggest reason for the alarming rise in the deaths of Olive Ridley turtles this year. In general however, unchecked mechanised trawlers and gillnets (a wall of netting that hangs in the water column) have become a death trap for the species protected under Schedule 1 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
Schedule I has animal species, such as Bengal tiger, Indian rhinoceros and Musk Deer, that enjoy the highest level of protection.
“Olive Ridleys face serious threats across their migratory route, habitat and nesting beaches, due to human activities such as turtle unfriendly fishing practices, development and exploitation of nesting beaches for ports, and tourist centres,” a document by the World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF India) said in 2023.
Olive Ridley turtles arrive at the Tamil Nadu coast between September and October for breeding. Their nesting season begins around November and continues till March. During their nesting period, thousands of the turtles arrive on India’s east and west coasts to lay eggs. Mass nesting sites are located in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
Female sea turtles nest in the sand, each laying around 100 eggs. It is estimated that approximately only one hatchling survives to reach adulthood for every 1,000 hatchlings that enter the sea waters.
Santosh Kumar, a regular at the Besant Nagar beach, one of the spots where the carcasses have washed up, said the stench hangs over the beach and its surrounding areas.
“The presence of authorities has increased on the beach, and they haven’t allowed people to walk around the areas where the turtles have washed up. But the stench of the rotting carcasses is intolerable,” Kumar said. “They are still behind on safely burying the bodies.”
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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