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Marine Turtle Newsletter 53:18-19, © 1991

A Turtle's Journey from Pakistan (Karachi) to India (Gujarat)

Fehmida Firdous
Sindh Wildlife Management Board, P. O. Box 3722, Stratchen Road, Karachi, Pakistan

Since 1982, 1241 olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles have been tagged on the beaches of HawkesBay and Sandspit, Karachi. Size 19 monel metal tags (National Band and Tag Company, Kentucky, USA) are typically applied to both front flippers. A considerable number of these tagged turtles have been recovered from local waters. We now have proof of a long distance movement by one of our adult female green turtles. The turtle was tagged by Miss Fehmida Firdous, Project Officer of the Sindh Wildlife Management Board, on 24 September 1989 at HawkesBay beach in Karachi (tag numbers W2242 and W2243 on the right and left front flippers, respectively). At the time of tagging the turtle measured 98.5 cm curved carapace length and 83.5 cm curved width. She had been tagged as she retreated back to the ocean after an unsuccessful nesting attempt, as she could not find a suitable nesting site.

The turtle was recaptured some 365 km (straight line) to the south on 5 May 1990, 223 days after tagging, by a fisherman off Bhaidar Island (22°27'N, 69°17'E) in the Gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat, India. The fishermen gave the information to Mr. Rishad Pravez (Research Fellow, Department of Biosciences, Saurashtra University, Gujarat), and Mr. Pravez kindly provided us with the data. This is the first response received of the discovery of a tagged turtle from outside our local waters. It is inferred from this information that turtles from HawkesBay and Sandspit may travel a long distance along the Indian coast. Additional information of this kind will certainly improve our knowledge of the migratory route(s) of these endangered species.