Olive Ridley Turtle Nesting Guide For Goan Naturists.

are one of the only species of turtles known to currently nest on the beaches of Goa out of the five species of Indian turtles.

There have been sparse records of the Green, Hawksbill, and Leatherback from the offshore waters off the Goa coast.

APPEARANCE

The Olive Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys Olivacea) gets its name from its olive/greyish-green carapace (outer shell) and greenish skin. Being one of the smallest of sea turtles, closely related to the Kemps Ridley, these turtles are found only in warmer waters. By nature solitary and preferring the open ocean, Olive Ridleys are rarely seen as they swim closer to the ocean bed and only come up to breathe. They are known to swim at a speed of 0.9 - 5.8 mph and up to 22 mph 935 km per hour) when frightened. The Olive Ridleys have smaller heads in comparison to their relative, the Kemps Ridley, growing up to 2 feet in shell length and weighing up to 100 pounds. Its cutes on the carapace are unique with 12-14 marginal ones and up to 9 lateral ones per side. Characteristic of the heart-shaped carapace are the 4 pairs of porebearing inframarginal scutes on the bridge and two pairs of prefrontal ones. Each of the four flippers has one or two visible claws with the front ones sometimes having an extra one.

LIFE SPAN

Maximum age for these turtles is upto 50 years.

HABITAT

Olive Ridley turtles are only found in warmer waters around the southern Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. They are known to frequent coastal bays, estuaries or the ocean for some part of their range.

FOOD

Mostly carnivorous, feeding on jellyfish, crabs, shrimp, and snails, these turtles may also eat algae and seaweed making them omnivores. The Olive Ridleys typically forage offshore in surface waters or dive to 150 m to feed on bottom dwelling crustaceans.

NESTING

The Olive Ridleys have one of the most extraordinary nesting habits in the world. Both males and females travel thousands of miles, coming together during the mating ritual or ‘Arribada’ (meaning arrival in Spanish), which refers to synchronized nesting in mass numbers. Mating takes place offshore and males return to the ocean (their feeding grounds), while females swim ashore to the nesting site - the same place where they were hatched. Females nest every year and often more than once in a season as they have the ability to store sperm throughout the nesting season. Once onshore, they lumber along in the dead of night to their nesting spot. Individual females lay around 100 - 120 eggs, each measuring 4 cm in diameter. The nesting period in Goa usually occurs from November/December and goes upto March/April. Nesting is largely dependent on the amount of disturbance at the beaches owing to commercialisation and climatic change. India has several nesting sites but not much importance is given to them. Gahirmatha Beach in Odisha, on the western coast of India, is one of the largest and most important nesting sites in the world followed by Mexico and Costa Rica. Other places in India where these turtles nest are the Andamans and Lakshadweep Islands.

HATCHLINGS

The eggs hatch 45 - 50 days after incubation. Hatchlings weigh less than 30g and measure 3.8 cm in length. Once the baby turtles emerge from the shells, they use cues to find the water including the slope of the beach, the white crest of the waves and the natural light of the ocean horizon. The sex of hatchlings is determined by the temperature of the sand. Lower temperature produces males while higher temperature produces females.

ENDANGERED

Currently under threat and deemed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List and listed as a ‘Schedule I Species’ in the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, the forest department and coast guard ensure their safety. The Olive Ridley is considered the most abundant among the turtles, but highly endangered due to decline in the adult population. Either the hatchlings do not make it to the ocean due to predators or the adults are taken by sharks. Besides, hundreds of turtles die along the eastern coastline of India every year, mostly due to fishing activities, habitat loss, pollution, unsustainable development in the coastal areas and climate change.

CONSERVATION IN GOA

Not much importance has been placed on conservation of these endangered species in Goa. Conservation is particularly required as the beaches are turning into noisy tourist hubs which are detrimental to nesting. Goa has declared five beaches - Galgibaga, Talpona, Agonda, Morjim and Mandrem as Turtle Nesting sites with Incubation and Interpretation centers set up and guards stationed to ensure the eggs are safe and hatchlings released into the ocean. Locals have also been taken into confidence (sometimes paid) to report egg locations and nesting sites. On an experimental basis, in the first week of March, 2021, in a collaborative effort between the Goa Forest Department (Government representative), WWF-India and Technology for Wildlife (private enterprise representative) drones were used to document aerial imagery to detect adult turtles on Morjim beach in the North. The footage included hatchlings being born and released into the sea by the forest department field workers. The media and footage collected will further enhance research on the Olive Ridley Turtles in Goa.

In March 2021, a total of 29 turtle nesting pits were reported at Agonda while 2 were reported at Galgibaga, bringing the total egg count to over 3000.

In January this year, the first solitary female reportedly showed up on Agonda beach laying 114 eggs with the breeding season kickstarting last December when another turtle laid 130 eggs at Morjim.

IMPORTANCE OF SEA TURTLES

Travelling thousands of miles across Oceans, various species of Sea Turtles help maintain healthy seagrass beds, provide important nutrients to nesting dunes, ensure our Coral Reefs remain strong and healthy and transport important organisms that live on them to and from seagrass beds, coral reefs etc. They also act as shelters for smaller creatures that take protection from predators.