Gujarat releases 70,000 turtle hatchlings

AHMEDABAD: The state will add three hatcheries to the existing two to give a shot in the arm to the conservation of the endangered green turtle and Olive Ridley turtle in Gujarat. Currently, the state releases over 70,000 hatchlings into the Arabian Sea every year.

The forest department runs two hatcheries in Madhavpur (Porbandar) and Okha Madhi (Jamnagar) where eggs are collected and brought to an enclosure to ensure their hatching. Three hatcheries will be commissioned this October — in Kodinar (Gir-Somath), Jhalna (Amreli) and Chorwad (Junagadh).

“Gujarat will have one of the highest numbers of hatcheries in India. Participation of locals has helped boost the conservation of turtles,” says Dinesh Goswami, spearheading the campaign along the Saurashtra coast.

P T Siyani, range forest officer, Porbandar and in-charge of Madhavpur hatchery, said, “In 1990s, only one out of 1,000 eggs laid would survive. Over the past two years, 85% of collected eggs hatch.”