Amrutha Kosuru

Sanviti Iyer

Editor

large_01-IMG-20230324-WA0055-AK.jpg

medium_01-IMG-20230324-WA0055-AK.jpg

small_01-IMG-20230324-WA0055-AK.jpg

thumbnail_01-IMG-20230324-WA0055-AK.jpg

01-IMG-20230324-WA0055-AK.jpg

It is 3 a.m. on a beach in eastern India. Ramolu Lakshmayya is using a flashlight to look for Olive Ridley turtle eggs. Armed with a long wooden stick and a bucket, as he slowly traverses the short, sandy path between his home in Jalaripeta and RK beach. Female Olive Ridley turtles come ashore to lay their eggs and Visakhapatnam&#39;s sandy beaches with sloping shores make it an ideal nesting place; they have been spotted here since the early 1980s. However, a few kilometres north, the Odisha coast has the largest mass nesting sites in the country. The female turtles release 100-150 eggs at a time, burying them deep in sand pits. “When the sand feels loose, it suggests that the mother turtle has laid her eggs here,” explains Lakshmayya, carefully probing the damp sand with the stick. Accompanying Lakshmayya are Karri Jallibabu, Puttiyapana Yerranna, and Pulla Polarao, fishermen from the Jalari community (listed as Other Backward Class in Andhra Pradesh). In 2023 they took up part-time work as guards with the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department (APFD) as part of an effort to conserve Olive Ridley turtle eggs under the Marine Turtle Conservation Project. Olive Ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) have been categorised as a ‘Vulnerable Species’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/11534/3292503#assessment-information">Red List</a>. And protected under the Schedule-I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (amended 1991). Turtles are at risk because of several factors like coastal destruction, “specifically at the nesting habitats in the name of development as well as loss of marine habitats due to climate change,” says Yagnapathy Adari, a Project Scientist at Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary in Visakhapatnam. Sea turtles are also hunted for their meat and eggs.

“No matter how deep the mother buries the eggs, it is possible to find them. People may step on them, or worse – dogs may claw them out,” says Lakshmayya, emphasising the need to protect the eggs. “In the hatchery they are safe,” adds the 32-year-old. So guards like Lakshmayya are critical to their survival. Olive Ridleys are the smallest sea turtle species and get their name from their olive-green shell.They are recruited to search for turtle eggs and keep them in a hatchery, releasing them back into the sea once they hatch. The hatchery in RK beach is one of four in Andhra Pradesh – Sagar Nagar, Pedanagamayyapalem and Chepalauppada are the others. In Sagar Nagar hatchery, not all guards are fishermen – some are migrant workers who have taken up this part-time work for an added income. Raghu is a driver who picked up the job to help pay for his living expenses. A migrant from Srikakulam, Raghu moved to Visakhapatnam when he was 22 years old. He doesn’t own a vehicle but works as a driver  and earns Rs. 7,000. Taking up this part-time work has helped: “I am able to send back 5,000 -6,000 [rupees] to my parents at home now.”

From December to May every year, guards cover a distance of seven-eight kilometres along the RK beach, stopping every few minutes to look for eggs. The nesting season for Olive Ridley turtles in India is usually from November to May, but the maximum  number of eggs are found in February and March. “Sometimes, we spot the mother&#39;s footprints; on rare occasions we catch a glimpse of the mother [turtle] herself,” says Jallibabu. Once the eggs are found, they are carefully placed in bags, along with a handful of sand from the area. This sand will be used to rebury the eggs at the hatchery. They record the number of eggs, when they were found and an estimated date of hatching which they attach to a stick and place it near the burial spot. This helps keep track of the hatching timeline. The incubation period for the eggs is usually 45-65 days. The guards remain stationed at the hatchery until 9 a.m. before setting sail into the sea for their main source of income, fishing. They get paid Rs. 10,000 per month from December to May for their conservation work. The amount was Rs. 5,000 till the last nesting cycle in 2021-22. “The money [from this work] helping out the turtle babies has come in handy,” adds Jallibabu.

Lakshmayya chimes in, “it will be really helpful during the annual 61-day fishing ban during the breeding season which is from April 15 to June 14.” However the guards didn’t receive their payments in these months. When PARI met them in June, they had only received their dues for the first three months – December, January and February. During the ban, they have little to no income. “We usually take up other jobs at construction sites and more. However, this year, the extra money has come in handy. I just hope to receive the remaining amount soon,” Lakshmayya had said in June. Some of them were paid recently in September, while a few were paid in August – months after the fishing ban. Raghu says the favourite part of his job begins after the turtles hatch. The guards gently place them in a butta (basket) and release them on the beach. “They dig out of their sand quickly and have the tiniest feet. They take small quick steps and don’t stop until they reach the ocean,” he says. “Then the waves carry the babies away.”

The last set of eggs hatched in June this year. According to the APFD, all four hatcheries, with 21 guards, collected 46,754 eggs and released 37,630 hatchlings into the ocean. 5,655 eggs didn&#39;t hatch. “Many eggs were damaged during the heavy rains in March 2023. It was really sad. When some hatchlings came out in May, they had broken shells,” says Lakshmayya.Adari explains that the turtles imprint the geological location of their birth. Female turtles return to the same beach where they were born to lay their eggs after they reach sexual maturity at 5 years. “I am happy to be a part of this. I understand the turtle’s eggs are sensitive and need protection,” Lakshmayya says, looking forward to the nearing nesting cycle. This story is supported by a grant from <a href="https://rangde.in/">Rang De</a>.

Saving Olive Ridley turtles in Visakhapatnam

اولیو رِڈلے کچھوؤں کو بچانے کی کوشش

விசாகப்பட்டிணத்தில் ஆலிவ் ரிட்லி ஆமைகளை காத்தல்

ਵਿਸ਼ਾਖਾਪਟਨਮ ਵਿੱਚ ਰਿਡਲੇ ਕੱਛੂਆਂ ਦੀ ਸੰਭਾਲ਼

ବିଶାଖାପାଟଣାରେ ଅଲିଭ ରିଡ୍‌ଲେ କଇଁଚର ସୁରକ୍ଷା

വിശാഖപട്ടണത്തിലെ  ഒലിവ് റിഡ്‌ലി കടലാമകളുടെ സംരക്ഷണം

ವಿಶಾಖಪಟ್ಟಣದಲ್ಲಿ ರಿಡ್ಲೆ ಆಮೆಗಳ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣೆ

विशाखापट्टनम: विलुप्तप्राय कछुओं को बचाने की जद्दोजहद

દરિયાઈ કાચબાઓની વાહરે વિશાખાપટ્ટનમ

विशाखापट्टनम मं दुब्भर ओलिव रिडले कछुवा के जनम

विशाखापट्टनम: कछुआ के अंडा बचावे के मुहिम रंग लाई

বিশাখাপত্তনমে অলিভ রিডলি কচ্ছপ সংরক্ষণের উদ্যোগ

বিশাখাপট্টনমৰ সমুদ্ৰ তটত বিলুপ্তপ্ৰায় সামুদ্ৰিক কাছৰ সংৰক্ষণ

విశాఖపట్నంలో ఆలివ్ రిడ్లీ తాబేళ్ళ సంరక్షణ

Visakhapatnam

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


Let’s get you acquainted

Welcome to PARI

All our content is, and will forever be free to consume. If you enjoy our work, you can support us by becoming a volunteer or by donating to help fund our work.

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

IN TELUGU - Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

Saving Olive Ridley turtles in Visakhapatnam

Fishermen and migrant workers are rescuing the endangered turtle – one egg at a time

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit