Sea Turtles are Doing Well, But Threats Still Loom!

A comprehensive 16-year report by the Dakshin Foundation, IISc, and state forest department

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Sea turtles are thriving, but they still face significant threats. In Odisha’s Gahirmatha and Rushikulya, the amazing arribada occurs, with hundreds of thousands of olive ridley turtles nesting over a few days, a phenomenon matched only by sites in Mexico and Costa Rica. A comprehensive 16-year report by the Dakshin Foundation, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and state forest departments, reveals an increase in turtle nest counts across India, while also highlighting critical challenges such as climate-induced skewed hatchling sex ratios and underscoring the vital role of local communities in conservation efforts. The report also covers leatherback turtles in the Andaman Islands, with nesting on Little Andaman Island increasing since the 2004 tsunami. Telemetry studies from 2011 to 2014 revealed these turtles travelled as far west as Madagascar and Mozambique and as far east as Western Australia. In the Lakshadweep Islands, a growing green turtle population has caused overgrazing in seagrass meadows.

One of the most impressive spectacles in nature is the ‘arribada' or mass nesting of the olive ridley turtle, when tens or hundreds of thousands of female turtles come ashore to nest simultaneously. Gahirmatha and Rushikulya in Odisha are two of the largest rookeries worldwide, with other similar sized rookeries found only in Mexico and Costa Rica. In April 2025, Rushikulya witnessed one of the largest arribadas in recent years, with 400,000 to 500,000 turtles nesting in the span of just a few days. Sections of the beach were packed so thick with turtles that there was barely any place to walk.