Olive ridleys return to S Goa shores, lay 19k eggs

Canacona: Another productive season unfolded in Goa’s southernmost taluka as olive ridley turtles returned to the shore, guided by their natal homing instinct. The turtles laid 188 nests containing over 19,000 eggs at Agonda and Galgibaga beaches.
The nesting during the previous 2023-24 season had touched an all-time high, as a record number of 231 nests were dug for 22,965 eggs at both sites.
This indicates that the flippered visitors laid only 28 fewer nests and only just over 3,000 fewer eggs this season. Marine turtles stick to a unique phenomenon called natal homing – returning to the same shore where they were born for nesting. Turtle conservation on a modest scale had commenced first in Galgibaga in this taluka in the mid-1900s.
The turtles made an identical 43 nests in the 2024-2025 season at Galgibaga last nesting season.
In Agonda towards the north, a total of 14,367 eggs were protected in 143 nests at the hatchery during the current season, as compared to 181 nests and 18,011 eggs in the 2023-2024 season.
Out of 14,367 eggs, only 3,468 hatchlings were released at Galgibaga and 5,347 at Agonda, and the remaining 3,168 eggs were unhatched, and 317 hatchlings were dead. Forest officials expressed satisfaction about the continuing trend. But the season could have been almost identical to last year if not for heatwave-like conditions this year.
Agonda saw fewer nests this year, likely due to the intense heat, which halted turtle arrivals after mid-April, South Marine range forest officer Rajesh Naik said.
During the last few seasons, the turtles even surfaced in May to lay eggs on both beaches.