Experts see a new threat to sea turtle

Speakers at a workshop on marine biodiversity conservation, organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-India and the Department of Forest and Wildlife, here on Monday observed that extensive construction of sea walls along the coastline of Kerala was leading to the loss of nesting grounds of sea turtles, a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Experts from the Forest Department and Marine Conservation Programme pointed out that sea walls block the path of adult female sea turtles, which crawl to the beach for nesting and laying eggs. Speakers suggested that seawalls be replaced by breakwaters, built over a limited stretch of beach, to reduce the strength of waves and help conserve the nesting habitats of sea turtles. Principal Scientific Officer, Kerala State Council for Science Technology and Environment, Kamalakshan Kokkal, Marine Conservation Programme senior coordinator M. Vinod, WWF-India State director Renjan Mathew Varghese and A. Bijukumar of the Kerala University Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries led the sessions at the workshop.Former scientist of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute Appukuttan Nair said that the sea turtles are taken as an indicator for marine conservation because of their long lifespan.Speaking on the impact of mechanised fishing activity on marine biodiversity, Mr. Bijukumar said that around 36 percent of marine species were on the verge of extinction due to trawling. "A large number of marine species that are caught in trawling net are not marketable. Only 10 percent of fishes caught are economically valuable. The rest, including scheduled species, are killed and dumped back at sea," he said.Dumping of plastics is another serious issue. Every year, thousands of marine organisms die after getting entangled in nylon fishing nets that fishermen discard in the sea, he said. "Fishing communities will be the first to be affected by marine resource depletion. Major responsibilities of conserving biodiversity must be vested on the community, with the government acting as monitoring agency. There should be emphasis on creating awareness among fishing communities and people living close to the coasts," he said.

 

The Hindu, 10th June, 2009