Help me save the turtles

Hi ,

I've just written to Ratan Tata asking him to not to go ahead with building a port in Dhamra, Orissa, dangerously close to one of the world's largest sea turtle nesting grounds for the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle. I think its a good idea for Mr. Tata to move the port to another location rather than endanger the turtles.

By living up to the Tatas' environmental legacy, Ratan won't just save the highly-endangered Olive Ridley Turtles, he will also end up making Tata a better company.

The only problem is that I can't bring about that change alone. I need help from lots of people, especially you.

Please do what I've done. Write directly to Ratan by clicking here

Thanks a million,
;krishanrawat@gmail.com

People for Animals

Threats To Turtles

Fishing:

Marine turtles are frequently trapped in trawler nets or caught on longline hooks. The turtles can't escape and consequently drown. Bycatch (unwanted catch) is a problem for many marine species, not just turtles. Fishing nets can now be fitted with Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) which may help to alleviate the problem.

Migration: Turtles make huge migrations between feeding and breeding sites. Loggerhead turtles, for example, have been tracked on voyages right across the Pacific creating considerable difficulty for conservationists and those conducting research into turtle populations. There is a need for a global approach to protect all migratory species that cross international marine boundaries.

Hunting: In the past, turtle featured regularly on the menus of sailors and explorers as live animals could be kept on board ships as a source of fresh meat. Although no longer part of a sea-faring diet, turtles are still hunted. The shells are used for ornaments or ground up to make traditional medicines and the meat and eggs are eaten in coastal communities and smuggled across the world as delicacies. This illegal trade continues despite being banned by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).

Predators: Although a turtle may lay hundreds of eggs at a time, the hatchlings must make a hazardous journey to reach the sea. They are preyed upon by numerous natural predators including crabs, birds, dogs, foxes, fish and marine mammals. A naturally low survival rate is diminished still further if turtle eggs are taken by humans.

Breeding age: A key factor for turtle survival is the number of adults of breeding age. Some females don't produce young until they are several decades old and they may only breed every other year, or even less frequently. If juveniles don't survive long enough to mate, turtle populations will never recover.

Habitat loss: Adult female turtles return to the beaches where they hatched to lay their eggs. Sadly, they often travel huge distances only to find human development on or near their nesting sites. Turtles are confused by artificial beachfront lighting which causes hatchlings to crawl inland instead of heading for the sea. Once stranded on land, they are usually eaten by predators. PollutionThe health of the ocean environment is important for all marine species.

Pollution: from human activity often ends up in the sea. Because turtles may live for up to 100 years, pollutants such as PCBs build up in their bodies and a chemical cocktail is passed on to their eggs. Litter also causes chaos. Plastic bags are a particular problem as turtles mistake them for jellyfish and swallow them. The bags get caught in the digestive tract and cause the turtles to starve.

People for Animals

Over 5,000 turtles killed in Orissa since '07 BHUBANESWAR: Despite a ban on fishing along Orissa coast, a large number of rare Olive Ridley Turtles were killed and their carcasses found scattered on the beaches from Chilika lake to Paradip port, official sources said. While conservation groups claimed that at least 12,000 turtles were killed from November 2007 till date, the state government put the figure at 5,000. Over two lakh turtles visit Orissa coast every year for annual nesting. They lay eggs at Gahirmatha beach, Devi region and Rusikulya river mouth. According to international NGO, Greenpeace, over 4,000 carcasses were found in Devi region alone till February. "This is well above the average mortality figure of 2,470 recorded in the area in the last seven years", Sanjiv Gopal, oceans campaigner of Greenpeace said. The conservation group apprehends that turtle mortality could be more than the previous years with two months still left for completion of the nesting season of turtles. While lauding forest department for containing turtle mortality in Rushikulya river mouth, Greenpeace alleged that it had failed in checking movement of trawlers in Devi region. Gopal alleged that a large number of turtles were killed due to unchecked trawler movement near shore water disrupting turtle congregation leading to their death. The claims of the conservation group were supported by the Wildlife Society of Orissa which also blamed the state government for the large scale turtle mortality in the state's coast.

Contributed By: Nikhil Jain

Source : Internet

People for Animals

Turtles Begin Mass Nesting

Turtles begin mass nesting in Orissa

BERHAMPUR: Thousands of endangered Olive Ridley turtles have begun mass nesting on the coast of eastern Orissa state, home to the world's largest nesting site for the turtles, officials said on Wednesday.

Over 20,000 turtles came ashore for mass-nesting early on Wednesday, within a two-kilometre stretch from the mouth of the Rushikulya river in Ganjam district, a local forest department official said.

The Rushikulya river mouth is around 175 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar.

For more than a decade, the beach at the Rushikulya river mouth has been witnessing mass arrival of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles. But the turtles did not land here last year, the official said.

The turtles, which this year have already congregated in the sea near the nesting site, came ashore in groups, with around 5,000 to 10,000 turtles in each group.

There are three mass nesting sites of turtles in Orissa: Nasi Islands in Gahirmatha, Devi river mouth and Rushikulya river mouth.

However, no mass nesting has been reported from the other two beaches so far, although turtles are seen swimming near the coast, a wildlife official said.

The Rushikulya river mouth is the only place along the coast where turtles are safe from marauding trawlers, said Biswajit Mohanty, secretary of the NGO Wildlife Society of Orissa.

Contributed By: Nikhil Jain

People for Animals