Relevance: GS-3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

Key Phrases: Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES),Turtle Excluder Devices (TED),Olive Ridley Turtle,Zoological Survey of India (ZSI)

Why in news?

• Scientists have resumed tagging of Olive Ridley sea turtles at Rushikulya rookery along Odisha coast

Analysis:

About Olive Ridley turtles:

• The olive Ridley gets its name from the olive green color of its heart-shaped shell.
• It is among the smallest of the world’s sea turtles and is found primarily in the tropical regions of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans.
• The Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) is listed as vulnerable under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red list.
• In India they are included in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
• Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) prohibits trade in turtle products by signatory countries.
• Three main factors that damage Olive Ridley turtles and their eggs
  • Heavy predation of eggs by dogs and wild animals,
  • Indiscriminate fishing with trawlers and gill nets, and
  • Beach soil erosion
• Dense fishing activity along the eastern coasts, especially ocean-going trawlers, mechanised fishing boats and gill-netters pose a severe threat to turtles.
• The Olive Ridley has one of the most extraordinary nesting habits in the natural world, including mass nesting called arribadas.

Conservation of Olive Ridley turtles:

• They are vulnerable because they nest in a very small number of places, and therefore any disturbance to even one nest beach could have huge repercussions on the entire population.
• The Indian Coast Guard’s “Operation Olivia”, initiated in the early 1980s, helps protect Olive Ridley
• Enforcing the use of turtle excluder devices (TED) by trawlers in the waters adjoining nesting areas

Mass nesting sites of turtles

• The 480-km-long Odisha coast has three arribada beaches at Gahirmatha, the mouth of the Devi river, and in Rushikulya
• A new mass nesting site has been discovered in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
• Gahirmatha beach off the Bay of Bengal coast in Kendrapara district is acclaimed as World's largest-known nesting ground.
• In Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), there are about six nesting spots

The tagging exercise

• Metal tags are used. They are non-corrosive and they do not harm their body.
• The tags are uniquely numbered containing details such as name of organisation, country-code and email address.
• The plan is to tag 30,000 turtles over a period of 10 years

What information does tagging fetch about turtles?

• The path taken by turtles in the sea
• If they keep coming to one nesting site for laying eggs
• The number of sites they visit over the years
• The inter-rookery movement of turtles (Rookery: a breeding colony of rooks, typically seen as a collection of nests high in a clump of trees)
• The migration pattern to other countries

Who carries out tagging exercise?

• Zoological Survey of India (ZSI): It focusses on zoological research and studies to promote the survey, exploration and research of the fauna in the country. The ZSI was started in 1916 by Thomas Nelson Annadale with the primary objective of inventorying and documenting faunal diversity.

Way ahead

• Cooperating with international partners to implement conservation measures and establish agreements, such as international treaties that protect sea turtles.
• Researching, developing, and implementing changes to fishing gear practices and/or fishing gear modifications (e.g. Using large circle hooks in longline fisheries)
• Collecting more information on the species biology and ecology to better inform conservation management strategies and to assess progress toward recovery.
• Working with partners to study and raise awareness about illegal sea turtle trade.

Source: The Hindu