On March 13, the Andaman and Nicobar Forest Division organised a first-of-its-kind “turtle pageant” in Campbell Bay, Nice Nicobar Island, in keeping with the Andaman Chronicle. Throughout the pageant, 40 newly hatched large leatherback turtles and 200 olive ridley turtles had been reportedly launched at B-Quarry seashore with the participation of college college students.
These hatchlings got here from hatcheries managed by the Forest Division as a part of conservation efforts. Hatcheries are small, protected enclosures designed to safeguard turtle eggs from predators akin to feral canine and human poachers.
Conservation tips specify that hatchlings have to be launched at their natal seashore—the identical seashore the place the eggs had been initially laid. Releases are ideally carried out at night time to guard hatchlings from publicity to vibrant daylight and sizzling sand.
Turtles imprint on their natal seashores as hatchlings and return there as adults to put eggs. Analysis underscores this reality. “Crawling throughout the seashore is believed to be essential for hatchlings, because it permits them to imprint on their natal seashore and return to the world when they’re prepared to breed, often called nesting seashore constancy,” famous a examine by researchers from FLAME College, Pune.
Nonetheless, in the course of the Campbell Bay “turtle pageant”, hatchlings had been launched at B-Quarry Seaside, a location the place neither large leatherbacks nor olive ridleys nor another turtle species lay eggs. Moreover, B-Quarry Seaside has skilled excessive erosion over the previous couple of years, and at excessive tide, the seashore typically disappears totally.
“On the whole, hatchling releases with the general public are very helpful, as they offer individuals, particularly kids, an opportunity to attach with a wild animal and take into consideration its ecology and the wellbeing of the bigger ecosystem by which it lives. Usually, although, hatchlings ought to be launched on the seashores the place they had been born and at night time, as quickly as your entire nest emerges,” mentioned Kartik Shanker, a researcher who has labored on turtle conservation.
This reporter, who has visited B-Quarry seashore throughout nesting seasons and spoken to researchers working extensively in Nice Nicobar, confirmed that turtle nesting doesn’t happen at B-Quarry seashore.
In essence, the hatchlings had been launched neither on their natal seashore nor at night time, contradicting established conservation tips.
Dinesh Kartik, Divisional Forest Officer for the Nicobar division of the Andaman and Nicobar Forest Division, declined to touch upon the origin of the hatchlings.
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Transferring turtle nesting websites
It’s probably that some hatchlings launched at B-Quarry originated from Galathea Bay, the proposed location for an Rs 81,000-crore mega mission by the Union authorities. The mission features a transshipment terminal, a world airport, gasoline and solar energy crops, a township, and luxurious tourism amenities.
The intent behind the ‘turtle pageant’ appears to be translocation, i.e., redirecting hatchlings from Galathea Bay to different seashores, aiming to shift future nesting websites and thus forestall battle with the mega mission improvement.
A number of different researchers contacted by this reporter had been hesitant to touch upon the problem. They expressed hesitation to talk on file, saying that they worry potential governmental backlash that would have an effect on their analysis permits, funding, and visa renewals.
A researcher from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), an autonomous organisation below the Union Atmosphere Ministry, was current in the course of the launch at B-Quarry. WII facilitated the de-notification of the Galathea Bay Wildlife Sanctuary in January 2021 to allow the event of the mega mission. The researcher didn’t reply to queries concerning the hatchlings’ origin or WII’s involvement within the occasion.
Relocating turtle nesting websites is difficult contemplating that turtle populations have sure organic nesting patterns which were cemented over 1000’s of years. The collection of nesting seashores additionally relies on ecological components, akin to sand grain measurement and seashore slope. The enormous leatherback turtle, weighing about 700 kg, requires seashores with gradual slopes, as steep inclines hinder their motion. So, it stays to be seen how profitable such workout routines are that goal to translocate turtle populations.
“Is that this being finished as a deliberate scientific experiment? Are all launched hatchlings tagged not directly in order to watch if they are going to come again as adults to the discharge seashore location possibly 25 years later?” requested B.C. Choudhury, a member of the IUCN Species Survival Fee (SSC) Marine Turtle Specialist Group.
The Nicobar division of the Andaman and Nicobar Forest Division plans to organise extra such festivals at varied seashores throughout Nice Nicobar Island however appears reluctant to reply questions in regards to the occasions.
Additionally Learn | The Nice Nicobar Venture: A pricey miscalculation?
Elimination of turtle hatchery
For years, the Forest Division maintained hatcheries throughout Nice Nicobar Island, together with Galathea Bay. Since 2023, the division began categorising turtle numbers in Galathea into two teams: “Galathea 1” on the jap flank of the Galathea River and “Galathea 2” on the western flank. Just lately, the division eliminated the hatchery at “Galathea 1”, probably as a result of upcoming mega mission.
The Nicobar Division of the Forest Division didn’t reply to questions concerning the removing of the hatchery from the jap flank.
The deliberate transshipment terminal might be located exactly the place the ‘Galathea 1’ hatchery beforehand existed.
Rishika Pardikar is an setting reporter based mostly in Bengaluru who covers science, regulation, and coverage.
