MARINE TURTLES ALONG THE INDIAN COAST Distribution, Status, Threats and Management Implications 1 2 MARINE TURTLES ALONG THE INDIAN COAST Distribution, Status, Threats and Management Implications 1 Contributors List and Details Compiled and Edited by: Annie Kurian Produced by: WWF-India Cover Photo: Bivash Pandav Back Cover Stencil Photo: Bivash Pandav Photo contributors for chapters: S. Saravanan and Annie Kurian for Tamil Nadu; S. Saravanan and Forest Department of AP for Andhra Pradesh; C.S Kar, Michael Peters and Bivash Pandav for Odisha; Punyasloke Bhadury for West Bengal; Murukan Pareparambil and Renjan Mathew for Kerala; Ravi Pandit and Annie Kurian for Karnataka; Sujeeth Kumar Dongre for Goa; Vishwas. D. Katdare and Annie Kurian for Maharashtra; and Dinesh Goswamy, Jignesh Gohil and Sunny Shah for Gujarat. © WWF-India 2013 2 ACKnoWledgements This report is the collective efforts of a number of individuals and organizations who have contributed to the conceptualization, information collection, analysis and design that has gone into its development. We sincerely appreciate all those who so freely offered their help and advice in this endeavor. Mr. Ravi Singh, Secretary General & CEO, WWF-India has been a vital support in bringing out the publication. Dr. Sejal Worah is particularly acknowledged for all support rendered towards the publication; her prompt initiative, and encouragement shown has both enabled and given impetus for the successful completion of surveys and reports. Vinod Malayilethu, WWF-India Marine Coordinator was responsible for guiding this study along with able support from Aditi Raina, Coordinator, Freshwater and Wetlands. We are thankful to Kartik Shanker, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore for recommending the Turtle Action Group (TAG) members for carrying out nesting status surveys in the states of Gujarat, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra. We are grateful to Prof. B.C. Choudhury, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun for his continuous advice and support. Annie Kurian, consultant with WWF-India, whose experience in the field of Sea Turtle Research along the Indian coast spans over a decade, has compiled and edited the report. She needs special mention for assistance and initiatives taken for facilitating surveys, particularly for Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, and for all dedicated efforts made towards the completion of the report. Copal Mathur, WWF-India’s design specialist, did a brilliant job in coordinating the design of this publication. Sonali Nandrajog, Communications officer with WWF-India’s Species and Landscapes Programme helped in editing this report to give it a better shape. Many individuals have helped in various capacities with surveys and reports; we particularly acknowledge Dr. C. S Kar, Senior Scientist of the Forest Department, who is among the names synonymous with turtles, for his invaluable contribution to the Odisha chapter. Vartika Poddar, Dr. De Rose-Chevalier Roche Society, Priya Pradeep, Dr. Wesley Sunderraj-Green Future Foundation, Dr. S. Bhupathy of Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History are greatly acknowledged for all logistical support and reviews rendered with surveys and reports. S. Saravanan, WWF India, who was previously part of the UNDP survey in Tamil Nadu, has headed the survey in the state again, including Andhra Pradesh; we acknowledge his efforts, dedication and perseverance in leading the two surveys. We are grateful to the Forest Department officials and staff of individual coastal states for their valuable support to carry out surveys, and contributions made to the report. While carrying out nesting status surveys can be of great value to the conservation of the species, it is nevertheless an arduous task. We sincerely appreciate the authors of various chapters for the time and effort spent, and many of whom have gone the ‘extra mile’ in gathering information. We acknowledge the Odisha Forest Department and WWF-India for surveys in Odisha; members of Sahyadri Nisarga Mitra for survey in Maharashtra; members of Prakruthi Nature Club for surveys in Gujarat; Canara Green Academy and FSL-India for survey in Karnataka; Members of SSTCN, Poombuzhar and TBML colleges, and ANNMOO trust are also thanked for conducting surveys in Tamil Nadu; IISERK-Kolkata for West Bengal, Centre for Environment Education in Goa; and WWF State offices for surveys in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. 3 CONTENTS Preface Brief History & the WWF-India Sea turtle Project ����������������������������������������������������������� 7 Sejal Worah Nesting Locations Along The East And West Coasts of India �������������������������������������������� 9 Annie Kurian PART 1. STATUS OF SEA TURTLES AND THEIR NESTING HABITATS ALONG THE EAST COAST OF INDIA 1. Marine Turtle Habitats And Nesting Status In Tamil Nadu ������������������������������������ 13 S�Saravanan, J�Gokulakrishnan, Arun�V, Akila Balu, Murugan Annapan and Annie Kurian 2. Status of Sea Turtle Habitats and Nesting in Andhra Pradesh �������������������������������� 31 S�Saravanan, Kumari Swamy, Farida Tampal 3. Marine Turtles of Odisha: Status, Issues and Threats ���������������������������������������������45 Chandra Sekhar Kar and Michael Peters� 4. Nesting Status of Sea Turtles In West Bengal -The East Midnapore Scenario ��������85 Punyasloke Bhadury, Amit Kumar and Manoj Maiti PART 2. DISTRIBUTION, STATUS OF SEA TURTLES AND THEIR NESTING HABITATS ALONG THE WEST COAST OF INDIA 5. Sea Turtles of Kerala: Status, Issues and Threats ���������������������������������������������������� 99 Murukan Pareparambil and Renjan Mathew 6. Marine Turtle Habitats and Nesting Status in Karnataka �������������������������������������� 113 Ravi Pandit and Rakesh Soans 7. Sea Turtle Nesting Status in Goa ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 127 Sujeeth Kumar Dongre 8. Marine Turtle Habitats in Maharashtra (Distribution, Status and Threats) �������������� 135 Vishwas� D� Katdare 9. Sea Turtle Habitats and Nesting Status in Gujarat ������������������������������������������������ 155 Dinesh Goswamy, Jignesh Gohil, Sunny Shah and Annie Kurian Contributors’ Addresses ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������173 © S. WORAH \ WWF-INDIA 6 PreFace India has a coastline of more than 8000 km which is rich in biodiversity. Apart from sustaining fishing grounds, India’s coastal waters and beaches provide foraging and nesting sites for a variety of marine species, including sea turtles. Five species of sea turtles are known to inhabit Indian coastal waters and islands. These are the Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), Green (Chelonia mydas), Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and the Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) turtles. Except the Loggerhead, the remaining four species nest along the Indian coast. Though many of the ecological interconnections influencing sea turtle behavior and biology remain unclear, it is known that sea turtles occupy a unique position within the food web. They consume an assortment of prey, including puffer fish, crustaceans, sponges, tunicates, sea grasses, and algae. The unusual life cycle of the animal plays a vital role in transportation of nutrients from the highly productive marine habitats such as sea-grass beds to energy-poor habitats like sandy beaches. This helps reverse the usual flow of nutrients from land to sea. Threats to marine turtles in India are many, and varied. Some of the major threats include unplanned beach development (including ports, lighting, tourism and plantations), by-catch mortality (in trawl nets and gill nets), weak enforcement of fisheries and Protected Area regulations and, to a limited extent, killing of turtles for meat and the poaching of eggs. The coastal state of Odisha on the eastern coast of India experiences one of the world’s largest mass nestings or arribada of the Olive Ridley turtle during the months of October to April. Three of the world’s major mass nesting beaches for this species are located in Odisha, supporting a nesting population of probably more than half a million Olive Ridleys, making this one of the most critical conservation areas for this species globally. However, there are other significant turtle populations in India, which also need to be protected and which are less known. This initiative, which builds on earlier surveys is an attempt to understand the current status, distribution and threats to sea turtles in India. It covers the coastal states of India, but due to limitations of resources, leaves out the islands of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep. We hope that this report helps to provide an understanding of the current status and trends in turtle distribution along the Indian coast. It also assesses the threats to turtle populations in each state and provides recommendations for their conservation. 7 © MICHAEL PETERS \ WWF-INDIA 8 NESTING LOCATIONS ALONG THE EAST AND WEST COASTS OF INDIA Map: Annie Kurian Gujarat is the northern most location on the west coast of India, and is an important nesting and foraging ground of green sea turtles on the mainland. Olive Ridleys used to be found in good numbers, but current surveys record only green turtles. Maharashtra is mostly a sporadic olive ridley nesting site, but has few occurrences of green turtles as well. Most of its beaches are well monitored for turtle nesting. Goa is the smallest state in India and borders Maharashtra and Karnataka. Increase in developmental activities