Question

Q12. Consider the following statements.

1. The Olive ridley turtles are recognized as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red list.

2. International Trade in these turtles and their products is banned under CITES Appendix I.

Which of the above statements are correct?

• A. a) 1 only
• B. b) 2 only
• C. c) Both 1 and 2
• D. d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer 1

The correct option is C

c) Both 1 and 2

Olive Ridley Turtles

• The Olive ridley turtles are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world, inhabiting warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
• These turtles, along with their cousin the Kemps ridley turtle, are best known for their unique mass nesting called Arribada, where thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs.
• Though found in abundance, their numbers have been declining over the past few years, and the species is recognized as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red list.

Process of egg laying

• They lay their eggs in conical nests about one and a half feet deep which they laboriously dig with their hind flippers.
• The coast of Orissa in India is the largest mass nesting site for the Olive-ridley, followed by the coasts of Mexico and Costa Rica.
• An Olive Ridley usually lays about 120 to 150 eggs from which hatchlings emerge after about 45 to 60 days.
• But not all eggs remain intact as predators devour it. Besides, eggs are also washed away by sea waves during high tide

It is estimated that approximately 1 hatchling survives to reach adulthood for every 1000 hatchlings that enter the sea waters. This may also be the reason why arribadas happen and a single female can lay 80 to 120 eggs and sometimes even twice in a season; to increase the hatchlings survival rate

• The eggs are incubated in the nest and grow, sans mother, to emerge as hatchlings

Issue area

• They get entangled in the nets for prolonged period and die of asphyxiation.
• The turtles also perish in large number after getting hit by the fast moving propeller of the fishing trawlers
• they are still extensively poached for their meat, shell and leather, and their eggs,

What has the Govt done?

• The ban on sea fishing has been clamped in accordance with provisions of Orissa Marine Fishing Regulation Act (OMFRA), 1982 and Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
• The Orissa government has made it mandatory for trawls to use Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs), a net specially designed with an exit cover which allows the turtles to escape while retaining the catch.
• They are accorded as schedule-1 animal under wildlife protection act for its highly threatened status
• International Trade in these turtles and their products is banned under CITES Appendix I
• WWF-India, along with the fishermen community, has been involved in protecting the Olive ridley rookery at the mass nesting site at Rushikulaya, in Orissa, by fencing off the nesting area and patrolling it till hatching and ensuring a safe passage for the hatchlings to the sea