The IUCN Red List classifies Olive Ridley, one of seven living marine turtle species, as vulnerable. They are fragile because of their distinct breeding patterns and the growing threat from human activity.
This sea turtle is named after its olive-coloured carapace - the hard upper shell. The Olive Ridley, like all other sea turtle species except the herbivorous Green Turtle, is an omnivore, eating jellyfish, snails, crabs, prawns, algae, and small fish.
The nesting
The olive ridley is best known for its large nesting aggregations, known as arribadas ( a Spanish word for ‘arrival’) which include hundreds of females nesting on tiny areas of beach.
Around September, the olive ridley arrives from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian seas. Male and female turtles travel together for about 9000km. After about two months of mating, the males retire to deeper waters. The females stay, and after a month of gestation (the time between conception and birth), they begin nesting at the end of December or early January.
The turtles nest for three months - January, February, and March. They usually nest twice a year, and, occasionally, even three times. Each nest can hold from 50 to 190 eggs, with an average of 100. Hatchlings emerge after around 45-60 days. After 12 to 15 years, the hatchlings that survive to reach adulthood will return to the seashore where they were born to deposit their eggs.
The sex of the hatchlings is determined by the temperature inside the nest, which can vary from nest to nest and even within the same nest. Mass nesting is a wonderful phenomenon but they are also vulnerable to large-scale disruptions.
Did you know?
Turtles in distress
Olive Ridley and several sea turtles face numerous threats despite their tenacity. Human activities have a direct impact on sea turtles’ lives and habitats along with indirect threats such as climate change, marine debris and industrialisation. The ecological environment is largely affected by the loss of a significant number of sea turtles. Let’s take a look at some of the dangerous threats that sea turtles have been facing since time immemorial.
1. Hunting and Poaching: In several coastal areas across the world, one of the main sources of food is sea turtles. The hunting often takes place during peak nesting season. Once the female turtle has laid her eggs, the hunters attack her for the meat and take away the eggs as well.
Solutions
Education is a vital solution to prevent the hunting and poaching of sea turtles and some other ways include:
- Midnight patrolling of nesting beaches
- Relocating eggs to hatcheries across the city
- Government-based laws
2. Longline and Trawler: Often sea turtles reside in the same zone as commercially valuable fishes and they are caught in the longline, trawls or gill nets. According to research, sea turtles have been dying because of fisheries for the last 50 years. When sea turtles are caught underwater - in gillnets or longline hooks - either they get severely injured including amputation or they drown to death while trying to get out of the baits.
Solutions
The fisheries have been indirectly responsible for reducing a significant number of sea turtles. People across the world are taking the initiative to monitor their practice and find better solutions such as:
- Changing the size of hooks from a J-shape to a circle so that turtles cannot hang on to it.
- Attaching turtle-excluder devices (TEDs) to trawlers or gillnets that help sea turtles escape through a trap door. TEDs work relying on the turtle’s weight and push open the door downwards making way to leave the net.
3. Marine Debris: Each year over a million marine animals die because of marine debris. It is very well known that 80% of this debris comes from land. Out of all marine creatures, sea turtles are the most vulnerable to marine pollution. They have downward-facing spines in their throats which makes it impossible to regurgitate (throwing out swallowed food) and hence, the plastic gets trapped in their stomach. Due to marine pollution, sea turtles also face ‘bubble butts’ when they float because of the gas caused by consuming marine debris which leads to either starvation or their death by natural predators.
Solutions: To solve marine pollution, one must educate themselves by following these solutions.
- The 3 Rs - Reduce, Reuse & Recycle
- Use cloth bags instead of plastic bags
- Avoid littering on the beaches
- Often we release balloons in the air that end up in the ocean and are consumed by sea turtles mistaking them as food. At all costs, avoid doing that, especially on a beach.
4. Artificial Lights: Ages ago before industrialisation, nesting was easier for turtles as the beaches were quiet and dark which is an ideal requirement. Today, the lights from resorts, residences and hotels discourage nesting which results in resorting to either unsuitable zones or laying eggs in the oceans. After digging their way out of the nest, hatchlings must find the sea. They tend to move towards the brightest source of light but the artificial lights all around the beach often mislead them and draw them to the land. They move towards the wrong direction - highways or predators - where they might be run over or eaten lessening their chance of survival.
Solutions: Light pollution is severely impacting the nesting habitat of sea turtles and by following these solutions we might make this world a better place for sea turtles.
- Turning off lights on nesting beaches
- Using low-pressure sodium vapour lights
- Tinting windows facing the beach
- After dark, the windows that are facing the beach must be covered with curtains
- Use Turtle Safe Lighting that is less bright and makes it easier for hatchlings to move towards the sea
- If a lost hatchling is found far from the sea, then one must put it in the sea
5. Climate Change: Climate change has a severe impact on sea turtles as they reside both in land and sea for a lifetime. The rise of temperature is directly impacting the nesting season - land temperature determines the gender and the warmer temperature will lead to the birth of female turtles which is a threat to genetic diversity; warmer sea temperature impacts the food resources of sea turtles leading to starvation and untimely death.
Solutions: Climate change is globally disrupting the lives of all beings. We, humans, can do only much to save those around us who are unable to save themselves. There are simple ways to make a difference such as:
- Reduce, reuse and recycle all plastic & paper waste
- Planting vegetation along beaches for better nesting habitat
- Commuting and travelling using energy-saving methods
Fun Fact
The midnight stroll
Just as Moana sails out on an adventurous mission to save her island, the coordinators & volunteers of the Students’ Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN) also run to the beach. Wondering what they do? Let’s dive and check out!
Tamil Nadu is home to Olive Ridleys and this is where the turtle walks originated in India. Founded in 1988 by a group of stalwarts, the Students’ Sea Turtle Conservation Network in Chennai plays a significant role in conserving sea turtles by implementing several methods - public awareness campaigns, community engagement and turtle walks.
Turtle walks are not walking like a turtle but so much more than that. It is a unique wildlife experience that focuses on the nesting process of sea turtles as well as highlights the challenges they face during the nesting season.
The nesting season for sea turtles, especially Olive Ridleys, in India, begins in December and continues till May. As the nesting process begins at night, the turtle walks take place after sunset. SSTCN’s volunteers walk every night during nesting season and the walk is open to the public only on Friday and Saturday nights.
School groups, college groups, working professionals and families join this midnight stroll to save the hatchlings. The walk begins with Q&As and an understanding of how to identify the nests, relocating the eggs to safer areas and protecting them from dangers. The volunteers walk along the beach, look for nests, carefully pick up the eggs and keep them in the hatchery for 45-60 days. After the hatchlings are out, they are released into the ocean.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do the volunteers at SSTCN walk every night?
The volunteers walk every night but it is open to the public only on Fridays & Saturdays night.
2. Where does the turtle walk begin?
The walk starts from Neelankarai Beach and ends at Besant Nagar Beach.
3. What is the duration of this walk?
The walk is divided into teams - SSTCN Volunteers & Forest Department. The volunteers start the walk around 11:30 PM and continue till dawn, and the Forest Department starts around 2 AM and continues till early morning. There is a mid-break during the walk at Valmiki Nagar Beach.
4. How long is the turtle nesting season?
The nesting season begins in December-end continues till May.
5. Do we have to make a payment to participate in the walk?
No, there is no requirement to pay to go on a turtle walk with SSTCN.
6. Who can join the turtle walks with SSTCN?
Both children & adults can join the walk. SSTCN doesn’t take up more than 15 participants for a turtle walk. School and college groups having 10-12 members are more than welcome to join.
7. How do we join the turtle walks with SSTCN?
To join SSTCN on the turtle walks, you must be a nature enthusiast. You have to book the walk one month prior by sending an email to sstcnchennai@gmail.com. In the email, you must mention the date you want to join the turtle walk.
Sea turtles are essential to the marine ecosystem as they help in promoting biodiversity. They are also an important part of the food chain as they contribute vastly in maintaining the health of the ocean by regulating a variety of organisms by simply eating them. Olive Ridley keeps the population of jellyfish in check because too many jellyfish result in fewer fish in the ocean.
“According to studies, one in 100 hatchlings survives to adulthood, and protecting these hatchlings is of utmost importance. We must protect the home of these turtles — clean beaches, less marine debris, etc — for nesting as they return to the same beach year after year, generation after generation, to lay their eggs.”Akila BaluCoordinator, SSTCN
Saving Olive Ridley turtles is a tribute to human abilities to protect and preserve nature. It is high time to save sea turtles so they remain a lifelong symbol of longevity and a tenacious balance of the marine ecosystem. By implementing the solutions to the threats and making informed decisions, we might be able to conserve Olive Ridley and other sea turtles for generations.
Published - July 28, 2024 09:00 am IST