PANAJI
The Olive Ridley turtles which often come to the shores in Goa to lay eggs are considered a rare species and care is taken to conserve them. The Morjim and Ashwem beaches are famous for these turtles and though the State government had reserved a 500 sq ft space for the conservation of turtles on Morjim beach, the recent Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) does not have any mention of this space and this has irked the locals.
The turtle conservation efforts have been undertaken here since 1997 and the zone was reserved for turtles from 2000 onwards by the Goa government. However, the recent CZMP does not show the mention or inclusion of this turtle reserved space which has annoyed the locals.
Three years ago a marine turtle was found injured here. This turtle has been treated at the Turtle Study Centre and it will eventually be released in the sea after it gets healed, stated an official at the centre. Last year, on this very coastal belt, turtles laid 2,496 eggs and 1,674 of them were hatched. These baby turtles were released into the sea. The eggs hatch after 45 to 52 days and the baby turtles break out of the eggs following a natural process.
At Morjim Tembwado, the forest department has initiated and carried out marine turtle conservation campaigns since 1978 and to date, 217 turtles have laid 23,633 eggs. Out of these 14,633 babies were released safely in the sea.
Of late, the turtle visits to the coast have been reduced to a large extent, as there are strong lights on the beach at night, and also noise pollution due to firecrackers. This has compelled the turtles to stay away from these beaches. The noise pollution, sailing of boats in the sea, a lot of traffic, lighting decorations on the boats and climate change has impacted turtle visits. The turtles look for silent zones to lay their eggs which hatch after 50-52 days. These babies immediately swim to the sea along with the waves.
On one hand, the government is trying its best to attract tourists and various schemes have been announced to lure them, but on the other hand, there is no permanent turtle conservation area for the safety of the turtles. There is an absence of a centre to study the rare species of turtles, too. The government had reserved 500 sq ft space as the turtle conservation area in 2000 but due to the CRZ Act, there are hurdles in constructing a permanent study centre here, say the locals.
