98 Olive Ridley hatchlings released into sea

They were hatched in the Forest Department’s hatchery in Manappad

The first batch of 98 Olive Ridley tortoise hatchlings, which were hatched in the Forest Department’s hatchery in the coastal hamlet of Manappad, were released into the Gulf of Mannar on Friday.

Collector K. Senthil Raj, in association with Department of Forest and the local fishermen, launched this much-needed initiative recently 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 ecosystem, it has been protected legally as Schedule I animal of Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Still, it is poached for its meat, especially when it comes to the shore to lay eggs, despite a campaign in the coastal hamlets against this practice. Hence, Dr. Senthil Raj and District Forest Officer Abhishek Tomar launched this initiative by involving the Forest Department personnel and the locals.

“Since the Olive Ridley turtles come to the shore between Manappad and Periyathaazhai beaches for laying eggs, we’ve launched this programme in this region,” said the Collector, who along Mr. Abhishek Tomar and the Manappad villagers, visited this stretch in February to launch the initiative.

Under this conservation programme, a few locals from Manappad and Periyathaazhai villages were trained to collect the eggs from the beach and hand them over to the hatchery where the eggs are hatched naturally by burying them in the seashore.

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 when this initiative was launched. They also collected 520 Olive Ridley eggs and deposited them in the hatchery.

“The trained locals and the forest personnel release the young ones into the sea as they come out of the eggs,” said Dr. Senthil Raj.