The baby turtles washed away by sea waves at Rushikulya beach. Telegraph picture

Cuttack, April 21: The turtle conservationists are worried over possible loss of eggs laid during mass nesting by the Olive Ridley turtles at Rushikulya beach along the Orissa coast. Severe beach erosion, especially in the nesting zone, had triggered the apprehension.

Around 2.5 lakh turtles had, in the first week of March, reportedly nested over a 2km stretch on the beach from Gokharkuda to Kantiagada villages during the mass nesting. Hatching is expected to start in a couple of days.

Operation Kachhapa, a turtle conservation group engaged in study on mortality of Olive Ridley turtles along the Orissa coast, is worried as “the broad beach stretch of 100–200 metres is now reduced at many places to less than 20 metres, indicating severe loss of eggs laid by the nesting turtles”.

“Owing to waves and winds, the nesting beach has eroded and thousands of eggs have been washed away by the sea. Many of the remaining eggs are not expected to hatch properly since water has already engulfed them,” Operation Kachhapa coordinator Biswajit Mohanty told The Telegraph here today.

“Embryos in the eggs laid are destroyed once the water seeps down. Though it is difficult to estimate the loss, at least 40 per cent of the eggs are now gone or will not hatch due to water ingression,” he said.

“In the previous years, turtles nested around mid-February increasing chance of the eggs’ survival as high summer winds and waves only occur from April onwards,” Mohanty said, adding, “but the Gahiramtha Nasi II island, where mass nesting takes place, is relatively safe and good hatching is expected from there.”

According to experts, the Olive Ridley turtles during mass nesting lay lakhs of eggs. However, only one egg in a thousand successfully hatches and grows up. Each female turtle lays about 120 to 150 eggs. Post nesting, the mother returns to the sea and never sees the babies that hatch after 45 to 50 days of nesting.

Mohanty said the natural phenomenon of beach erosion and deposition occurs throughout the year. However, artificial breakwaters, owing to new ports, are likely to disrupt these patterns. Moreover, casuarina plantations in many coastal areas also affect beach formation as sand dunes are flattened because of the plants.

“The new port announced at Palur, which is 5km away from the Rushikulya beach, is likely to destroy the mass nesting site once construction work starts,” Mohanty said.