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Marine Turtle Newsletter 56:11-13, © 2001

Sea Turtle Arribadas: For Massacre or Conservation?

B. Pradeep Kumar
No. M3/281-3RT, "The Cottage", Sanjeevareddy Nagar, Hyderabad 500 038, Andhra Pradesh, India

The fishermen around the entire coastline of India are ignorant of the need to conserve and protect sea turtles. Apart from their ignorance, they, their families, and almost all inhabitants of coastal villages in India indulge in the wanton killing of turtles -- just for the fun of it! The killing of these turtles is normally done by crushing the turtle's head with a big stone or by turning it on its back and repeatedly striking the plastron with a large, inwardly curved knife. These turtles are not killed for their calipee or calipash, but rather for their meat and blood which the local people believe cures paralysis, rheumatism, and impotency (I do not know how far these theories are true, since I am not a medical man). Turtle eggs are sold in local markets, with prices ranging from 2-5 Indian Rupees per egg. The eggs are then boiled, cooked, and eaten. Occasionally olive ridleys and hawksbill turtles get caught in fishing nets set in coastal waters. These turtles are killed with a knife and thrown back into the sea, or brought home for dinner. When I ask the people why they engage in wanton killing, the reply is, "What else to be done with this useless creature?" This is the consciousness of the ignorant.

In addition to the above, a depressing scenario is unfolding in India, specifically in the tourist area of Digha Beach in West Bengal and the protected area of Gahirmata at the mouth of the River Mahanadi (Ekakula Beach). Every year thousands of sea turtles are systematically slaughtered for their flesh and their eggs are dug up and sold to the insatiable Calcutta market where both are in high demand for the delicious calipee/calipash soup and for the nutritional value of the meat. The brutal way in which the turtles are killed goes unchecked, despite the fact that the sea turtles are protected species under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Act 1972 (no commercial usage permitted). In January 1991 on Digha Beach alone, two days catch netted over 500 sea turtles, while in Gahirmata over 100,000 eggs were harvested by local "contractors" for the Calcutta market.

The commercial value and the fact that turtles are relatively simple to catch during the mating season has currently attracted hordes of fishermen (and others seeking quick money while the season lasts) to the beaches of the Konkan, Coromandel, Orissa, and West Bengal, where each season's harvest is growing alarmingly. The fishermen merely wait for the turtles to start copulating offshore, when they become virtually defenseless. They do not even require nets, they just flip them into their boats where the flippers are wired together to prevent them from wriggling back into the sea. In any case, once a turtle is put on its back on the beach, it is virtually impossible for it to crawl back into the sea.

The female turtles, tragically, are heavy-laden with eggs when they are caught. Once the catch is over, the fishermen lay them out on their backs in helpless rows while professional cutters go down the line literally ripping the plastrons open while the turtles are still alive. In some cases, live turtles are loaded into waiting carts and trailers and rushed to the nearest railhead for shipment to Calcutta or Bombay. It is not just the illegality of the process that is repugnant, but the completely inhumane manner in which the turtles are killed. With thousands being slaughtered every breeding season, there is no way that the respective state governments cannot be aware of what is going on. But they are just not bothered. In some cases, money even changes hands.

There was a time when the Orissa and Karnataka governments allowed contractors to sell one million turtle eggs to Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay per season, in return for a royalty. This has now been banned with the indiscriminate killing having reached immeasurable heights. Today, sea turtles have been added to the ever lengthening list of endangered species. I have started educating and interacting with the fishermen all along the beaches of Nizampatnam, Chirala, Nellore (all on the Coromandel coast in Andhra Pradesh), Gangavali, Bhatkal, Kasargod (all on the Konkan coast in Karnataka), Digha on the West Bengal coast, and Gahirmata-Ekakula on the Orissa coast. I had to start from the basics; i.e., telling them that it is wrong to kill sea turtles because as it is there is a tremendous shortage of these animals in the sea. During noon and evenings I discuss the issues with the elders of the fishermen's village, who give me a very patient hearing. However, my main target is the teenagers who are just on the threshold of their forefather's profession and the children in the coastal villages.

The next generations need to be trained in the conservation and protection of sea turtles since, sooner or later, they would take up the profession of fishing and this concept of sea turtle conservation will by then be deeply embedded in their minds. I have requested two primary and one middle school to spare one period in their weekly curriculum to enable me to conduct education classes on sea turtle conservation. Initially, though the response was poor, I was able to muster the full strength of the school including the teachers for discussions. To my good luck, this process is slowly but surely succeeding.

Today I am proud to state that the Trinity Public School, Hyderabad (a higher secondary school with classes through to the tenth standard) is the first of its kind in Andhra Pradesh, and in this part of India, to very kindly allot to me the last two periods on every Saturday to hold environmental protection and conservation classes and group discussions. Indeed, the response is overwhelming, keeping in mind that I do not have any kind of educational material, aid, or films -- only my word of mouth. Today, by my single-handed effort, I am happy to state that the turtle slaughter has been completely minimized in the coastal villages of Nizampatnam, Chirala, Nellore, and Kasargod... and I enthusiastically look forward to the day when not a single turtle is killed on any beach or in the waters of India. It is an Herculean effort, and it sincerely requires your good-will, best wishes, and strong support.