Members of the Anjuna Biodiversity Board, along with locals and environmentalists, are growing increasingly concerned as the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) remains uncertain about whether Mhairi Beach — popularly known as Dream Beach — will be declared an Olive Ridley turtle nesting site, with the nesting season fast approaching.
“I am not sure and am not able to recollect the details of the matter (whether Mhairi Beach will be declared an Olive Ridley turtle nesting site). However, you can come over and see the file for yourself,” said GCZMA Secretary Sachin Dessai, when asked about the status of the file.
It may be recalled that on March 23, 2024, Vagator resident Javish Moniz wrote to the forest department, requesting that Mhairi Beach be declared a turtle nesting site due to the high number of turtles arriving to nest.
O Heraldo had earlier reported on the matter in its January 23, 2025 edition, in an article titled “Vagator’s dream beach remains a distant dream for turtles.” In that report, then GCZMA secretary Johnson Fernandes had said the file had been returned to the forest department for further inquiries.
“The file must contain reports on sand quality, environmental hazards, and a beach dynamic report. It will be placed before the next meeting and then sent back to the forest department,” Fernandes had stated at the time.
“We have not received any file from the GCZMA so far. The local MLA (Delilah Lobo) had also submitted a letter from the local biodiversity board requesting that the beach be declared an Olive Ridley nesting site,” said a senior forest department official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
During the 2023–2024 nesting season, 17 Olive Ridley turtles came ashore at Dream Beach, laying a total of 1,515 eggs. According to Forest Department RTI data, that number declined in the 2024–2025 season, with just 12 turtles arriving and 1,229 eggs laid.
“The decrease in the number of turtles is worrying, and that was the primary reason we asked our MLA to forward our request to get the beach officially declared a nesting site,” said a concerned Satyan Harmalkar, a member of the Anjuna Biodiversity Board and of the subcommittee for the Goa State Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2025–2030.
Eggs laid along the North Goa coast are typically relocated to the hatchery at Tembwadda in Morjim. But data from the 2024–2025 season show a low hatching rate, with 4,114 of the 15,119 eggs failing to incubate — raising alarms among conservationists.
A study by Margaret Osborne titled “Moving sea turtle eggs may affect hatchling development” published in The Scientist noted that “hatchlings from eggs incubated in a natural nest were larger, exhibited faster neuronal development, and performed better on a motor activity test than those from eggs that were incubated in a hatchery.”
Locals and environmentalists suspect that CRZ violations on the beach may be contributing to the decline in turtle arrivals. O Heraldo is in possession of a forest department letter to GCZMA dated February 10, 2025, which reads: “It is to inform you that on patrolling duty at coastal areas of Vagator beach, our staff found an Ashok Leyland Dost pickup which was stuck on Vagator beach.”
Local resident Javish Moniz added, “There were trance parties on the beach in December, and the New Year party was stopped by the Director General of Police (DGP), who was present. That is why the turtles came for nesting only in January.”
“I was promised by a forest guard that netting would be put up this season, but I have yet to see any sign of it,” Moniz added.
Deputy Conservator of Forests Jiss Varkey confirmed via RTI that Mhairi Beach is “already a turtle nesting site and supervised by the forest department especially during nesting season.”
However, Moniz argued, “The forest guards are not around all the time. In their absence, vehicles and even parties are held all night long during the nesting season. These activities are what keep the turtles away.”