the goan I network
CANACONA
The turtle nesting site at Agonda beach is presently guarding 21 nests (pits) with 2,308 Olive Ridley eggs. Most of these 2,747 eggs were laid during the past one week alone, while one turtle came to lay 137 eggs in the wee hours of Wednesday.
The Galgibaga beach, where the government is undertaking a Turtle Conservation Project on a larger scale, presently has five nests protecting 439 eggs.
Since the turtle nesting season commenced in October, about 224 hatchlings of Olive Ridley have been released into the Arabian Sea, with 197 of them from Agonda beach and 27 from Galgibaga.
South Goa DCF Sanjay Waradkar along with Cotigao RFO Vikramaditya Gaonkar and DRFO Anant Velip recently visited Agonda to inspect the pits. Waradkar directed forest staff to cordon-off the area and all turtle nests with fishing nets, to prevent the theft of turtle eggs and to prevent movement of tourists and visitors at the site.
Incidentally, the turtle hatching season began a bit late this year, with both the sites getting its first nest only at the fag end of January, when the season actually begins in October. Last year, 1,581 Olive Ridley babies were hatched from a total of 1,931 eggs at both Canacona sites, with Agonda contributing to 1,085 hatchlings from the 1,317-odd eggs in 13 pits.
