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Nesting season yet to start, but 7 Olive Ridleys wash ashore dead on Chennai coast

CHENNAI: While the nesting season still weeks away, the early death of seven Olive Ridley turtles along the Chennai shoreline has raised alarm among wildlife authorities, who fear a repeat of last seasons mass mortality. Preliminary examinations suggest drowning due to entanglement in fishing nets, with forest officials noting most of the carcasses found were males, an indicator that the turtles may have been trapped while migrating or mating offshore. Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra told TNIE the state government has moved swiftly. An interdepartmental meeting was held recently. The fisheries department said it has received sanction to procure 1,000 Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs), which are crucial to reducing mortality, he said. TEDs allow turtles to escape from trawl nets and are mandated under national sea turtle conservation guidelines. Dogra said the Chennai Wildlife Warden has also been directed to step up intelligence gathering on problematic fishing gear like long squid nets. We have procured an underwater drone to capture visual evidence and monitor hotspots. A meeting has already been held with all coastal DFOs asking them to remain extra vigilant, he added. The strandings come at a sensitive time. Tamil Nadu is preparing to launch a full-fledged two-year telemetry study in December to scientifically track Olive Ridley movement patterns along the states coastline. Under the Rs 84 lakh telemetry project, 20 Olive Ridleys - 10 from Chennai and the rest from other nesting beaches - will be fitted with Argos satellite transmitters to map migratory routes, nearshore hotspots and entanglement-prone fishing grounds between 2025 and 2027. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) will be doing the tagging and field operations, while the Advanced Institute for Wildlife Conservation (AIWC) will conduct nearshore surveys, fisher assessments and flipper tagging. Immediate sanction of Rs 59.14 lakh has been accorded for 2025-26. Additional chief secretary Supriya Sahu confirmed to the TNIE that sea turtle biologist Dr R Suresh Kumar of WII will be coming in mid-December to begin the telemetry study. His expertise will guide Tamil Nadus long-term conservation roadmap. To reinforce protection, the government will also deploy two units of the Marine Elite Force in the first week of December, marking the first time Tamil Nadu will have specialised coastal enforcement teams exclusively focused on curbing illegal trawling, gill-netting and nearshore fishing violations-persistent causes of turtle mortality.