Easily distinguished by their olive-green carapace, Olive Ridley sea turtles have made Goa one of their favourite nesting places over the years. Also known as the Pacific Sea turtle, the species (Lepidochelys olivacea) is believed to be the world’s second smallest turtle species and is usually found in warm waters in the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is no wonder then, that they are attracted to India’s coastline to nest, with the females arriving as they do in thousands on to the country’s beaches to complete their distinctive ‘arribadas’, or synchronised mass nestings.
How each generation of Olive Ridley turtles is able to return to the same beaches to lay their own clutch of eggs is something of a biological marvel. And lucky for Goa, they’ve picked select beaches for this annual phenomenon: Agonda, Galgibaga, Morjim and Mandrem. This species may love our state, but it doesn’t necessarily imply that the love is reciprocated.
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The most recent instance of disturbance to the turtle’s nesting site at Agonda beach by a single shack is evidence enough. In fact, although the forest department lodged a police complaint in this regard on January 11, the Canacona police did not act until the range forest officer wrote to the police inspector three days later. The PI, in response, merely said the police were “yet to ascertain the shack owner’s identity”, even as the forest department complained that sand was being stolen from around the turtle nesting site and the shack was draped with a cloth to hide it from view while workers laid tiles within the structure. Then came the proverbial red tape.
The Canacona PI shot back to say that he failed to understand why the police were approached at all when forest guards are well within their rights to make an arrest if there is, in fact, an illegality. He even went to the extent of denying any transgression on one hand and saying on the other that he would need to “study” under which Act a case would need to be booked in a matter like this. From the common man’s point of view, two enforcement agencies taking opposing stands in what should ideally have been an open-and-shut case is not only disappointing but alarming.
Notified turtle nesting sites must be protected at all costs and punishments for upsetting these areas, must be swift and strong. As it is, the existence of sea turtles around the world is greatly threatened by bright lights and loud sounds along coastlines. Flashlights, fireworks and pulsating music, all aimed at attracting tourists do just the opposite for the turtles – they drive them back into the sea and leave them floundering for another more suitable nesting site. It is also common knowledge that any form of illumination other than moonlight tend to make hatchlings disoriented, tricking them to waddle further inland instead of towards the ocean.
Noises, on the other hand, are believed to disturb the nesting cycle due to the vibrations caused by sound waves on land and at sea. Clearly, the mere earmarking of particular beach stretches as dedicated turtle nesting sites is not the only thing the government should be doing. It should also be ensuring that its law enforcements agencies are on the same page to deal with violations if and when they occur. Adequate support to the forest department – which has been doing a commendable job over the years to protect the Olive Ridleys and boost their nesting numbers – is paramount.
If generations of Goans to come are to witness this annual natural phenomenon, it is binding on the government to provide the Olive Ridleys with not only sufficient space and safety but with iron-clad rules to ensure that they can nest in peace. Passing the buck and treating illegalities with a pinch of salt won’t help anyone, and certainly not this docile marine species that swims thousands of miles in the hope of finding a safe haven on our beaches to nest if only to ensure that its kind survives for centuries to come.
