Olive Ridley turtles skip nesting on Odisha coast

The Gahirmatha beach in Odisha’s coastal Kendrapara district wears an abandoned look, as the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles did not march on its sands for mass nesting as they do every year. 

“Only a small number of Olive Ridley turtles have turned up this time and there are some sporadic nesting. No nesting of mass scale happened,” confirmed local divisional forest officer (DFO) K K Swain. The world’s biggest rookery for sea turtles come under Swain’s jurisdiction. 

When the turtles lay 50,000 eggs on the beach, it is termed ‘mass nesting’. Nearly four lakh turtles participated in the annual breeding ritual last year on the Gahirmatha beach, which is a protected zone due to proximity to the Wheelers Island in the neighbouring Bhadrakh district that houses the country’s premier missile testing centre. 

Officials blame unfavourable conditions on the beach. “There were sea erosions at many places on the beach this year because of high tidal activities. This could be one of the major reasons why the turtles did not turn up for mass nesting”, Swain said.

The DFO played down the turtles giving the beach a pass this time, saying that it is not unusual. The sea species did not turn up on mass in 2008 and also during 1997-98. 

Mass nesting also did not take place in two other sites in Odisha, the beaches close to the mouths of Rusikulya river (in southern Ganjam district) and Devi river (in Puri district), where very few Olive Ridleys have come to lay eggs. 

Many believe that the phenomena could be the result of damages caused to Odisha’s coastal region by cyclone Phailin in October.