In India, Sudden Sea Turtle Deaths Cause Concern
2025-01-31
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1Over 400 dead sea turtles have been found on India's east coast near the city of Chennai in the last two weeks.
2Those numbers have not been seen in more than 20 years.
3The species of turtle is known as olive ridley.
4The animals travel thousands of kilometers for ideal places to lay their eggs along India's coast.
5But that process, called nesting, has become more difficult because undisturbed beaches are becoming harder to find around the world.
6And, mass deaths like these can be caused by fishing nets that can catch and harm the species.
7Shravan Krishnan is a volunteer with Chennai-based Students Sea Turtles Conservation Network.
8He told The Associated Press that in a usual year, there are between 100 to 200 adult turtle deaths on the city's coast.
9"This year, we've already crossed 200 dead turtles in a little more than two weeks," he said.
10Krishnan is also concerned about the low number of turtles nesting on shore.
11He and other conservationists walk along the city's beaches at night to collect and move turtle nests.
12They do so to prevent the eggs from being eaten by dogs or damaged by people walking along the coast.
13"We have found only four nests so far, which is also really worrying," Krishnan said.
14Environmentalists and forest department officials have been seeing at least ten dead turtles every day for the past few days, sometimes many more.
15That is the highest number officials have seen since 2014.
16Experts say the deaths are most likely caused by large fishing nets that are pulled along the ocean floor.
17Manish Meena is in charge of the city's wildlife.
18He said groups have been actively trying to inform people involved in fishing to release turtles that might get caught in nets.
19They have also asked the coast guard to watch for illegal fishing activity.
20Fishing boats using giant nets that catch everything on the ocean floor are barred by a local government order from operating within five nautical miles of the coastline during the turtle nesting season.
21The law also requires the use of devices that can help turtles escape nets.
22Shantanu Kalambi is an ocean animal specialist with the conservation organization ReefWatch.
23He said that when the turtles get caught in nets, they are unable to come up to the surface for air.
24And environmentalists say the crews of fishing boats do not always use the devices to help turtles escape, since they reduce how many fish they can catch.
25Olive ridley turtles are considered an endangered species.
26Just like most sea turtles, their eggs need two months to hatch.
27This places them at higher risk because of coastal land activity, warmer temperatures and pollution from light.
28Farther up India's east coast, over 500,000 turtles nest every year.
29But only one in about 1,000 turtle babies that hatch survives to adulthood.
30Experts say the turtles are important to the balance of the ocean ecosystem.
31"As a species, they are millions of years old and they play an essential role in the food chain," Kalambi said.
32I'm Jill Robbins.
1Over 400 dead sea turtles have been found on India's east coast near the city of Chennai in the last two weeks. Those numbers have not been seen in more than 20 years. 2The species of turtle is known as olive ridley. The animals travel thousands of kilometers for ideal places to lay their eggs along India's coast. But that process, called nesting, has become more difficult because undisturbed beaches are becoming harder to find around the world. And, mass deaths like these can be caused by fishing nets that can catch and harm the species. 3Shravan Krishnan is a volunteer with Chennai-based Students Sea Turtles Conservation Network. He told The Associated Press that in a usual year, there are between 100 to 200 adult turtle deaths on the city's coast. "This year, we've already crossed 200 dead turtles in a little more than two weeks," he said. 4Krishnan is also concerned about the low number of turtles nesting on shore. He and other conservationists walk along the city's beaches at night to collect and move turtle nests. They do so to prevent the eggs from being eaten by dogs or damaged by people walking along the coast. "We have found only four nests so far, which is also really worrying," Krishnan said. 5Highest turtle deaths in the last twenty years 6Environmentalists and forest department officials have been seeing at least ten dead turtles every day for the past few days, sometimes many more. That is the highest number officials have seen since 2014. Experts say the deaths are most likely caused by large fishing nets that are pulled along the ocean floor. 7Manish Meena is in charge of the city's wildlife. He said groups have been actively trying to inform people involved in fishing to release turtles that might get caught in nets. They have also asked the coast guard to watch for illegal fishing activity. 8Fishing boats using giant nets that catch everything on the ocean floor are barred by a local government order from operating within five nautical miles of the coastline during the turtle nesting season. The law also requires the use of devices that can help turtles escape nets. 9Shantanu Kalambi is an ocean animal specialist with the conservation organization ReefWatch. He said that when the turtles get caught in nets, they are unable to come up to the surface for air. And environmentalists say the crews of fishing boats do not always use the devices to help turtles escape, since they reduce how many fish they can catch. 10A number of threats 11Olive ridley turtles are considered an endangered species. Just like most sea turtles, their eggs need two months to hatch. This places them at higher risk because of coastal land activity, warmer temperatures and pollution from light. 12Farther up India's east coast, over 500,000 turtles nest every year. But only one in about 1,000 turtle babies that hatch survives to adulthood. 13Experts say the turtles are important to the balance of the ocean ecosystem. 14"As a species, they are millions of years old and they play an essential role in the food chain," Kalambi said. 15I'm Jill Robbins. 16Sibi Arasu reported this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. 17______________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19species -n. biology. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants 20net - n. a device that is used for catching or holding things or for keeping things out of a space and that is made of pieces of string, rope, wire, etc., woven together with spaces in between 21conservation - n. the protection of animals, plants, and natural resources 22nautical mile - n. a unit of distance equal to 1,852 meters that is used for sea and air travel 23hatch - v. of a bird, insect, fish. to come out of an egg : to be born by coming out of an egg 24ecosystem - n. everything that exists in a particular environment 25essential - adj. necessary 26What do you think of this story? Write to us in the Comments Section.