Gujarat’s sea turtles await conservation programme

Did you know that Gujarat’s long coastline is home to lakhs of sea turtles? Are you aware that three of the five species of sea turtles found on the Indian coast are spotted in Gujarat, and that the state’s shores are breeding sites for two of them? So now, isn’t it surprising that while there are several conservation programmes for sea turtles in other states, there is absolutely none in Gujarat?

On Tuesday, the world celebrates International Day for Biodiversity and the theme this year is marine biodiversity. While Gujarat recognises and values the rich marine biodiversity it hosts, the sea turtles have somehow not figured in any of the state’s several wildlife conservation projects. Three species of sea turtles - Olive Ridley, Green Sea and Leather Back - are spotted along the entire Gujarat coastline. Two of these - Olive Ridley and Green Sea — are also known to breed here.

Forest department officials claim turtles are spotted along the Gujarat coast as well as on some islands in the marine national park (MNP). “There is no dedicated conservation plan for the sea turtles, but the forest department has around five hatcheries on the coast where the eggs are collected before they hatch to save them from jackals, dogs or from human damage. Diversity of marine species is an indicator that the environment is in good health,” chief wildlife warden SK Goyal said.

Reliable sources claim neither the union nor the state governments is too keen to highlight the status of sea turtles movement on the west coast as this part of the country presents the biggest opportunity for industrial development. However, perhaps a first of its kind detailed study has now been undertaken by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) to determine the impact of illumination on the hatchlings and the discharge of outfall channels into the sea. The study has been commissioned by Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd, a Tata Group company which has a power plant on Mundra coast.

“It is a very recently commissioned detailed five-year project to fully understand the movement of the sea turtles on Gujarat coast,” deputy director, conservation, BNHS, Deepak Apte said.
The female sea turtles are known to lay eggs on the beach and return to the sea soon after. After gestation, the eggs hatch and the hatchlings are immediately supposed to head to the sea guided by moonlight.

But if there is sharp illumination by any subject close to the shore, in Mundra's case the power plant, the hatchlings get confused by the light and head towards land, leading to their eventual death.

Assistant principal chief conservator of forest HS Singh says that all the three species are endangered under Schedule I of the Wildlife Act. He informs that some grants did come from the Central government a few years ago, but most of the focus in turtle conservation is on the eastern coast as the number of turtles breeding there is massive.