Goemkarponn desk
CANACONA: The recently ended Turtle nesting season on the twin Turtle sites of Canacona has brought cheers as well as tears to the Forest (Wildlife) department protecting the twin Turtle Nesting Sites at Agonda and Galgibaga in South Goa.
The cheers as over 231 mother Sea-Turtles, believed to be the endangered Sea species Olive Ridley have laid over 22965 eggs on the various South-Goa coastal beach sands and were protected in as many Pits at the twin Turtle Rehabilitation Centres (TRC) operated by Forest (Wildlife) at Agonda and Galgibaga.
The cheers however, were short-lived as only 13561 Olive Ridley Babies were hatched and subsequently released into the Sea, at the meagre and lowest-ever percentage of just 59.05%. As many as 8190 eggs failed to hatch and another set of 1214 young ones (babies) died in the Pits itself providing an overall worrisome high mortality percentage of 40.95%.
Agreeing the mortality is alarming, Forest (Wildlife) RFO Rajesh Naik however blamed the unseasonal rains for creating the major damages and playing a pivotal role contributing to the various factors for the high mortality rate this season. “Of Course, various factors attributed to the damage to the eggs eventually not hatched but got spoiled inside the pits, unseasonal heavy rains this time at least on three occasions have caused major problems and thrown challenges at us to protect the Turtle Pits. While some have got washed away, our men deputed at the nesting sites saved many pits by replacing the rains-drenched pits with dry sands and could survive many young ones. Many eggs were saved from getting spoiled and later we got hatchlings”, informed Naik.
“Some of the Pits at the newly shifted Nesting site of Agonda Turtle Rehabilitation Centre (TRC) got washed away due to the rising of sea-water but were partially saved from completely causing damages to all the eggs under procreation, while many eggs laid at the fag end of the nesting season, especially at Galgibaga failed to hatch and got spoiled after rains damaged the pit even from the last pit at Galgibaga due to our efforts of changing the sand we got some 8 hatchlings from it, which itself is remarkable”, Naik stated.
Incidentally, Agonda TRC has topped with a number of 181 Pits and protected a record number of eggs (18011) amongst all the Turtle nesting Sites in the State, also had a very high mortality rate @ 53.64% with a whopping 7392 eggs failed to hatch/got damaged and as many as 958 Young One’s (olive Ridley babies) died in the pits itself. Only 9661 olive ridley babies out of 18011 Eggs were successfully released in Agonda, and according to sources, many of the Young Ones’s not in very healthy conditions as during release some even could not properly crawl, but the buckets had to be directly emptied in knee deep waters, and waves took them away.
Incidentally, Turtle Nesting Season 2023-24 is the most significant and successful season since the Forest (Wildlife) department began to protect the endangered Sea turtle (Olive Ridley) worldwide threatened with extinction due to its heavy poaching for meat and eggs for enabling protect a record number of 45,493 eggs on the all the four Turtle Nesting Sites in the State of Goa.
Last turtle nesting season of 2022-23, the twin TRCs at Agonda and Galgibaga released 8688 Olive Ridley babies at a reasonable percentage of 86% from the 89 pits protecting 9995 eggs and the motility rate was just about 13%.
The previous year of 2021-22 was even better as far as motility of just 11% (96 nos) is concerned as out of 4163 eggs protected 3673 healthy young ones were released into the sea.
Similarly, in the season (2020-21) 3256 Olive Ridley babies were released at a percentage of 74% and a mortality rate of 26% of the 4437 eggs protected at Agonda and Galgibaga.
The 2019-20 season had seen only 18 Pits laying 2054 eggs and had released 1240 babies, whereas as many as 814 eggs failed to hatch.
The 2018-19 season saw 22 turtles with 19 alone visiting Agonda beach, the twin nesting sites protecting 2564 eggs out of which 1849 hatchlings were released into the sea with 715 either eggs failed to hatch or young ones dying in the pits themselves.
