Mass mortality of Olive Ridley turtles in A.P. raises concerns

Last Updated26/01/2023

Hundreds of vulnerable Olive Ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) have washed ashore along the coastline between Kakinada and Antarvedi in the Godavari region of Andhra Pradesh during the ongoing annual breeding season on the east coast.
The breeding grounds — Sakhinetipalli, Malikipuram, Mamidikuduru and Allavaram — have been witnessing the mass mortality of the turtles over the past few weeks.

The effluents being released from the aqua ponds along the coastline and the discharges from the pipelines of the onshore oil exploration facilities are blamed for the mass mortality of the turtles.
Since january as many as 70 Olive Ridley turtles that have been found dead in their breeding grounds between Kakinada and Antarvedi.

Scientific name: Lepidochelys olivacea; also known as the Pacific ridley sea turtle.
Location: Found in warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
Features:
- One of the smallest sea-turtles on the earth.
- Olive green colour of their shell.
- They can grow up to two-and-a-half feet in length and weigh 30-45 kilograms.
- Food: Mainly shrimp, crab, molluscs, fish and crabs.
- Known for their unique mass nesting called Arribada (which means ‘arrival by the sea’ in Spanish), where thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs.
- They hatch in 45 to 60 days.
- Gender: determined by the temperature at which they are hatched.
  - A male turtle is born if the egg hatches at a temperature below 29 degrees Celsius.
  - Above that, the hatchling is a female.
Sea Turtles in India: There are five species of sea turtles in Indian waters viz.,
- Leatherback,
- Loggerhead,
- Hawksbill,
- Green and
- Olive Ridley.
Conservation Status
- IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
- Schedule I of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
- CITES Appendix I
Nesting sites
- Rushikulya rookery coast (Odisha),
- Gahirmatha beach (Bhitarkanika National park) and
- Mouth of the Devi River.
Threats
- More frequent and intense flooding and cyclones
- Sex ratio is getting skewed because of global warming.
- Hunted for meat and shell.
- Anthropogenic factors like fishing trawlers etc.

It is a marine wildlife sanctuary located in Odisha.
It is the world's largest nesting beach for Olive Ridley Turtles.
It extends from Dhamra River mouth in the north to Brahmani river mouth in the south.
Gahirmatha was declared a turtle sanctuary in 1997 by Odisha after considering its ecological importance and as part of efforts to save the sea turtles