Every year olive turtles are gathering in coasts of Indiato multiply. Females come to land to lay eggs, while males stay in water. This year on 1 of the beaches in the state Tamil Nandu a amazing discovery was made – the sea threw to shore over 1100 Dead reptiles.
As the Guardian emphasizes, it is all the more amazing that usually there are no more than 100 to 150 turtles.
– I've never heard of so many turtles. thrown to shore on no Tamil Nadu beach, at least in the last 3 decades," commented the British paper quoted Kupusamy Sivakumar, prof. of Ecology at Pondicherry University.
India. Over 1,000 turtles thrown to shore. There are preliminary section results
The preliminary autopsy of the turtles showed in them pulmonary changesand many of them had bulging eyes.
– These observations indicate that turtles most likely died from asphyxiation and drowning," he commented Yuvan Aves, environmental activist from Chennaj. He added that “an highly large part” were male individuals.
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The causes of mass deaths are unclear. But there are theories that turtles may have become entangled and stuck in fishing nets. “If that were the case, it would be hard to find whether they were caught online close Chennaj or not, and then landed in Chennaj due to the currents of the sea,” said Prof. Sivakumar.
Aves, on the another hand, recalled that commercial fishing vessels frequently disobey local regulations, which could have contributed to turtle deaths. – For example Tamil Nadu banned trawlers within 5 nautical miles (9 km) from the shore, but the law is usually is not enforced - He said.
The trawler nets must besides be equipped with turtle deterrence devices, but as the ecologist points out, "They are notoriously missing‘.
The authorities have taken action. Night patrols launched
Following media coverage of the crisis, the Tamil Nadu state government took immediate action. As a consequence of operations carried out 24 trawlers have been intercepted. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In response, a Special Task Force, and a joint patrol squad began increased monitoring of boats and ships in the area to prevent further violations.
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Manish Meena, a wildlife defender in Chennaj, stressed that "Night patrols have been intensified to ensure the safety of young individuals‘.
However, the death of sea turtles, a species erstwhile threatened with extinction, whose population was partially rebuilt by years of conservation efforts, is of serious concern. – This exceeds the limits of human feeling said Aves.
– Just stand on the coast anywhere in Chennaj to see dead turtles with bulging eyes, up to the horizon, adds an ecologist.
