Olive Ridley hatchlings. Telegraph picture

Berhampur, Feb. 28: Sporadic nesting of Olive Ridley sea turtles is on at Rushikulya rookery since February 25 and the mass nesting is expected during the second week of March. But the condition of the beach has worried wildlife activists as there is not enough space for these turtles to lay eggs.

The 4.5km long beach at Rushikulya rookery from Purunabandha to Podampeta has been reduced to almost half because the mouth of Rushikulya river drifted north. The river mouth, which was at Purunabandha earlier, has now drifted to Gokharakuda and the length of the beach has been reduced to just 2km. The process of the shifting of the river mouth began in 2007.

“I am really worried about the condition of the beach because there is not enough space for the turtles to lay eggs,” said Rabindranath Sahu, secretary of the Rushikulya Sea Turtle Protection Committee.

Construction of two sea walls by Gopalpur Port Authority near the rookery has caused erosion that led to shifting of the river mouth, said Sahu.

Sporadic nesting of the turtles has begun since February 25. Only 15 turtles came for nesting on February 25. The number of turtles that came for nesting on February 26 and 27 was 150 and 32 respectively, said sources. Last year, mass nesting had started between March 14 and 20 and about two lakh turtles laid eggs there.

The mouth of the Rushiklya river is one of the major nesting sites along the Bay of Bengal.

In 1993, experts from the state forest department and Wildlife Institute of India discovered that large scale nesting of Olive Ridley turtles was taking place near the Rushikulya river mouth.

The Rushikulya Sea Turtle Protection Committee has initiated efforts for protecting the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles at the Rushikulya rookery. A group of motivated boys from Purunabandha village nearby have formed this group.

The group was set up in 1998 and most of its members are from the fishing community. The group works with technical support from many sea turtle experts including Bivash Pandav, S.K. Dutta, B.C. Choudhury and Basudev Tripathy.