Nature watch

Ridleys are unique amongst sea turtles in exhibiting massnesting, when several thousand turtles migrate en masse to their nesting ground to mate and nest simultaneously. Gahirmatha, in Orissa, has the largest sea turtle rookery in the world, with 100,000 to 500,000 turtles nesting there in most years. Mass mortality and fragmentation of the beach led to the failure of the arribada in 1997 and 1998, but more than 200,000 turtles nested on the 2 km long island in Gahirmatha in March, 1999. Despite the occurrence of the arribada, the outlook for the turtles is.bleak since 10000 turtles were drowned as incidental catch in shrimp trawling operations. Over 40,000 turtles have been washed ashore dead since 1994 as a result of drowning in trawl fishing nets. The implementation of existing laws preventing mechanised fishing in near-shore waters and the mandatory use of turtle excluder devices on trawlers would substantially reduce mortality. The consolidation of current conservation efforts is necessary to ensure that this species does not disappear from Indian waters in the near future