On a turtle nest trail at Dhareshwar beach

DHARESHWAR BEACH, KUMTA: Spot a nest of Olive Ridley turtle and win a prize of `600. Villagers and fishermen living along the shores of Uttara Kannada are grabbing the offer with both hands. In the process, they also protect the endangered species of turtles. Every year hundreds of turtles travel thousands of miles to reach the beaches of Uttara Kannada to prepare nests for their eggs.

The 92km of coastline stretching between Bhatkal and Ankola has been a maternity home for Olive Ridleys for many decades. Earlier the eggs would often be destroyed by dogs and other animals. Humans, too, collected them for consumption. But now the villagers strive to protect them and they also ensure that the hatchlings are safely released back into the sea.

The district wears a festive look on the day when the first batch of hatchlings is released into the sea. Before bidding adieu to the young turtles, fishermen perform pooja amid palpable enthusiasm of the forest department officials and local villagers. On Wednesday, one such event was held at Dhareshwar beach in Kumta.

“Honnavar forest department started conserving the turtles in 1984 at Jali village in Bhatkal taluk. Later it identified eight shores namely Jali, Bailuru, Manki, Kasarkod, Apsarkonda, Dhareshwar, Haladipura and Gangavali to conserve the nests of turtles. Subsequently eight hatcheries were made. Over a period of time, locals realised the importance of turtles and began to inform about their nests to the forest department,” recalls Vasanth Reddy, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Honnavar.

“About 86,000 eggs have been preserved for hatching till date and more than 40,000 have been released into the sea. The incentive of Rs 600 is to encourage more people to identify nests. We also felicitate people who discover maximum nests. We are planning to increase the incentive in the coming years,” says the forest department official.

Turtle eggs are shifted from the original nest to the hatcheries where they are monitored and protected. It takes about 50-55 days for the eggs to hatch. Subsequently the hatchlings are released into the sea.

With increasing human interference on beaches in the region, appropriate shores for nesting have reduced. In the name of development and prevention of sea erosion, stones are laid on the shores and seawalls have been constructed at many places.

High mast light towers also discourage the turtles from coming to the shores. “It is better to protect the eggs at the place where they are laid than shifting them to the hatcheries. The need of the hour is to create awareness among people about the importance of turtles,” says marine biologist V N Nayak.