District Collector K. Senthil Raj, with the help of Department of Forest and the fishermen, has launched a much-needed initiative to conserve Olive Ridley turtles found in the Gulf of Mannar.
Since Olive Ridley turtles that feed on invertebrates and algae are important for protecting the marine eco system, it has been protected legally as Schedule I animal of Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Even then, it was being poached for its meat especially when it came to the shore to lay eggs despite the campaign in the coastal hamlets, said Forest officials. Hence, Dr. Senthil Raj has launched this initiative by involving the Forest Department and the locals.
“As the Olive Ridley turtles come to the shore between Manappad and Periyathaazhai beaches of the district for laying eggs, we’ve launched this programme in this region,” said the Collector, who along with District Forest Officer Abhishek Tomar and the Manappad villagers visited this stretch on Friday to launch the initiative.
As per this conservation programme, a few locals from Manappad and Periyathaazhai villages would be trained to collect the eggs from the beach and hand it over to the hatchery created by the Department of Forest, where the eggs will be hatched naturally by burying it in the seashore.
“As the young ones will come out of the eggs on the 45th day, the trained locals will release them into the sea,” said Dr. Senthil Raj, who has decided to release funds for paying the salary to the locals selected and for the maintenance of the hatchery.
To popularise this initiative and to identify the nesting spots along the beach, Dr. Senthil Raj, Mr. Abhishek and others took out a walk along the beach between Manappad and Periyathaazhai on Friday, during which they rescued a sea turtle and released it into the sea again. They also collected 520 Olive Ridley eggs and deposited the eggs in the hatchery.
An awareness session was organised for the locals on Olive Ridley, Dugong and other marine animals to identify volunteers with the zeal for conservation, a group of students also participated in the programme and cleaned the beach.