Olive Ridley turtle nesting season picks up pace in State

DESPITE mass strandings of Olive Ridley turtles along the Andhra Pradesh coast in January, nesting activity has remained steady in February, with turtles continuing to arrive on the shores to lay eggs.

- USHA PERI @ Visakhapatnam

To aid conservation efforts, the Forest Department has set up four hatcheries along the Visakhapatnam coast at RK Beach, Sagar Nagar, Uppada, and Pedanagamayyapalem. So far, 262 nests containing 26,630 eggs have been relocated to these ex-situ hatcheries for protection.

In Vizianagaram, 213 nests with 23,632 eggs have been recorded, while in Bapatla, five nests with a total of 607 eggs have been relocated. On Hope Island, the total nest count stands at 85 as of Wednesday.

The Forest Department has also established a conservation hatchery at Chinamainivani Lanka near Narasapuram in West Godavari district. The District Collector inspected the hatchery, which has recorded 4,400 eggs laid in the past month. Officials estimate that the total number of eggs laid along the AP coast could reach 2.5 lakh in the coming two months.