Syed Ali Mujtaba
Chennai – Environmentalists in the southern megapolis are peeved at the alarming death of Olive Ridley Turtles on the Chennai beaches.
According to news reports, there are more than 1,000 turtles have washed ashore dead on the East Coast Road of India (ECR) in the last thirty days or so.
The data shared by the Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN), a voluntary group conserving Olive Ridley in Chennai, says the death toll has crossed 346 in January 2025 alone.
The count is from the 13-kilometer stretch of Chennai coast between Marina Beach and Neelankarai Beach, an area on the outskirts of Chennai.
“The primary cause of the mass deaths of the turtle is due to drowning after being entangled in trawler fishing nets, despite trawlers being prohibited from operating near the shore,” V. Arun, trustee and coordinator, SSTCN said.
“Initial investigation of a carcass that washed up on Chennai’s shore showed signs of drowning in fishing nets – bulged eyes, swollen necks, and internal hemorrhage marks on the underside, he said.
“As sea turtles are air-breathing reptiles, they need to surface at least every 45 minutes to breathe. Under stressful situations such as being entangled in a net they need to surface more frequently as their oxygen level depletes at a faster rate,” V. Arun noted.
Dr V Deepak Samuel V, Scientist, National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Chennai, says, these aquatic reptiles, unlike fish, cannot breathe underwater and have to come to the surface to breathe. They get entangled in the fishing nets and are drowned,” Samuel said.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a complete ban on trawling during the nesting season of Olive Ridleys. Trawlers are mandated to be fitted with turtle excluder devices. TEDs help turtles escape when they are caught in a fishing net. However, these fishing regulations are not complied with.
Environmentalists in Chennai are raising alarm about such a large number of the deaths of Olive Ridley Turtles. They have requested the government to do a detailed investigation into the matter, indicating that there could be more reasons than using trawlers.
“Merely stopping trawling won’t resolve the issue,” said one the environmentalist. In Chennai the shoreline has been replaced with groynes in many places, leaving no space for the turtles to nest, he reasons.
Abhishek, a member of SSTCN, highlighted the issue of plastic pollution on the shores. “We do see a lot of garbage on our shores and the turtles could be victims of plastic waste-based deaths. It is common knowledge that pollution in our oceans has passed the threshold limits. I am sure the bellies of these turtles also have a lot of plastic, he adds.
Olive Ridley turtles, which form an essential part of the ecosystem in the ocean, arrive in batches for nesting on the beaches of Tamil Nadu during the breeding season (December to March) every year. They come to the coast during mating and nesting periods and the female turtles stay on the shore for nesting purposes.
However, it is human negligence this time that has caused the deaths of such a large number of Olive Ridley turtles in Chennai which has made heads turn towards the environmental issues concerning India’s coastline.