Goemkarponn Desk
CANACONA: It’s going to be the most fertile year to the near extinct Sea-species atleast at Canacona shore, as a record 89 Mother sea-Turtles visited the twin Turtles nesting beaches @ Agonda and Galgibaga, the highest ever so far, since the Forest department came up with Turtle Rehabilitation Centres in 1991 to protect the threatened and endangered Sea Species- the Olive Ridley Sea-Turtle.
The 89 turtle that visited the south-Goa coasts, have laid over 9500 eggs in a period spreading shortly to over 4 months from end of December(18-12-2022), after the turtle nesting season commenced almost two and half months late at the Agonda and Galgibaga turtle Rehabilitation Centres of Canaocna taluka. Galgibaga is the headquarter of South Goa Marine Range, which operates two Turtle Nesting Sites in Canacona taluka, other being at Agonda.
Agonda, the most profilic of the Four Turtle Conservation Sites, which Forest department caters to Turtle Rehabilitation in the State, has been a host to a record of 68 pits protecting around 7300 eggs in this short period. Galgibga Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, which had hardly seen over two digits Turtle pits in the past, also protected 21 Pits with around 2250 eggs this season.
Agonda contribnuting for a major chunck of 4400 hatchlings and Galgibaga 1380 hatchlings, over 5780 hatchling were released in Arabian sea, since 86 olive ridley babies (from the first-ever pit of the season) were released between a period of 3 days from 11th March’2023-14th March’2023 at Galgibaga.
44- Turtle pits of Agonda are hatched releasing 4377 olive ridley babies and 1378 young one’s were released at Galgibaga from 14 hatched-Pits. In addition, also a total of 434 olive ridley babies were released from the unreported pits at Cavelossim, Mobor, Baina and Palolem, according to South Goa Marine Range sources.
Most of the hatched –Pits took between 51 to 59 days to hatch, while in most of the hatched-Pits, the eggs were hatched in different sets of olive ridley babies between the interval of 2-6 days to come out of the pits once the procreation period began.
While as many as 576 eggs failed to hatch, over 152 young one’s failed to come out of the pits and were found dead While mortality rate was on higher side especially from the transplanted Pits (shifted from other localtions), a low mortality was also seen in the undisturbed – two Pits where the mother turtle came and laid eggs directly into the Hatchery Site (Rehabilitatin Centre) at Agonda.
In both of these incidents, the pits were protected at the same site, and were opened only after the hatchlings were released into the sea, to find as certain number of eggs found damaged and some dead babies.
While all the pits protect on or before 11-03-2023 at Galgibaga are Hatched, around 24 pits at Agonda Rehabilitation Centre protected from 10-03-2023 still awaits hatchlings at Agonda.