Olive ridley sea turtles

The turtles of Orissa

The Orissa coast is one of the three sites worldwide where mass nesting of the olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) occurs, when thousands of female turtles come ashore to synchronously lay eggs. Olive ridleys exhibit this fascinating behavior at three known beaches in Orissa: Devi, Rushikulya and Gahirmatha, where hundred to two hundred thousand turtles nest annually. Every year, olive ridleys arrive in Orissa’s coastal waters in October. After mating in the offshore waters of the mass nesting beaches, they come ashore to lay their eggs. Seven to ten weeks after the eggs are laid, the hatchlings emerge and return to the ocean for several years of pelagic life. Years later, after traveling thousands of miles to distant feeding grounds, they return to their natal nesting beaches in Orissa and begin the cycle again.

Threats to the olive ridley

Over the last decade, the olive ridley population in Orissa has experienced very high mortality mainly due to incidental catch in trawl fishing nets. About 5000 to 10,000 dead turtles have been washed ashore each year, a total of over 100,000 in the last ten years. Other major threats to sea turtles include loss of nesting habitats due to coastal development and artificial illumination surrounding nesting beaches, which disorients hatchlings and inhibits nesting of adults.

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