Digging turtle nests and relocating to one spot is harmful: Turtle conservation specialist

MORJIM:   After falling foul in properly explaining how stolen urtle eggs became “spoilt”   Colonel Gerald Fernandes, a holder of Goa’s first ‘Wildlife Conservation Award, for the preservation of Wildlife and Marine Turtle Habitat for the Endangered Species of Olive Ridley Species’ has reacted to the issues flagged by O Heraldo.

In his letter to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests , accessed by OHeraldo, Gerald Fernandes “calls the retort of the Forest Department to the oHeraldo   story, Of 7,869 turtle eggs laid at Morjim, 2,095 go ‘stolen’  as “does not pass muster.” 

“The Forest Department in its arrogant propensity to better Mother Nature has for some years now embarked upon brigading the eggs laid by the Endangered Species of Olive Ridley marine turtles at the northern stretch of Morjim beach, manually digging up the nests and relocating the eggs from the entire stretch of beach at Morjim to Tembavaddo in Morjim,” says Fernandes in his letter.

“It has also been informed that eggs laid …at other beach stretches of North Goa have also continued to be dug up , and in some cases relocated to Temba vaddo, Morjim , Goa,” reads the letter.

The Forest Department diary accessed by O Heraldo indicates that eggs laid on the entire Northern belt were located to Tembavaddo in Morjim whilst two enclosures – one in Agonda and the other in Galgibaga were created to relocate eggs nested in different beaches of South Goa.

“Olive Ridley eggs are subject to constant biological and anthropogenic threats like stray dog menace human activities etc. So it is an established conservation practice approved by Wildlife Institute of India countrywide for collecting such eggs with necessary precautions and to translocate them to hatcheries, which are fenced and guarded 24×7. The department also undertakes several outreach and awareness programs in this regard,” said Prem Kumar, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) in reply to Fernandes’ contention that relocating eggs is harmful.

A study by Andrea D Phillott and Kartik Shanker in their paper, Best Practices in Sea Turtle Hatchery Management for South Asia, whilst admitting the use of hatcheries in certain countries in south Asia as an ex-situ conservation strategy underline that, “there should be ongoing threats to eggs in the natural environment for nests to be moved  to a hatchery as there are disadvantages to this practice.”

Fernandes went on to red flag the “vain and pernicious practice of the Forest department involves HOLDING BACK newly hatched turtlings in shallow vessels for display to higher ups in the Forest Department and other significant personages.”

“Hatchlings are released strictly abiding by the established SOPs and best practices. So, the allegation of undue withholding of hatchlings is baseless,” asserted Kumar.

“These pernicious practices must be urgently put to an end as they cannot be countenanced by citizens , nature lovers, and I dare submit even under the provisions of the relevant Wild Life Act 1972 and the environment Protection Act 1986 and the CRZ notification there under,” concludes Fernandes’ letter.