On Mumbai's Versova beach, Olive Ridley turtles made an appearance after 20 years. That this was made possible by the tireless clean-up efforts of a dedicated Mumbaikar such as Afroz Shah, is heartening news! What makes this even truly remarkable is when we understand the greater significance of turtle nesting on beaches of the world, their importance in maintaining ecological balance and how this is a strong indicator of the health of the beach and its marine life.
Afroz Shah of Mumbai describes himself as a lawyer and marine lover. He along with a band of other volunteers have been cleaning up the littered beach of Versova in Mumbai. This is quite an act of compassion towards nature and humanity as a whole!
For Shah and his band of tireless volunteers, it is all about bonding over the work that they do and later bonding over food!
Over 127 weeks, the team of volunteers has done a cleanup of over 5.5 million tons of plastic waste. This has made such a palpable difference that after 20 years since they were last seen in the area, Olive Ridley turtles have made a comeback; choosing this place as a suitable place to nest and lay their eggs in safety. These turtle species are known for their unique mass nesting or Arribada, where thousands of females lay eggs together in the same area.
Turtles are very important for our oceans to remain healthy, according to an oceana.org report. They help in maintaining marine habitats such as sea-grass beds, coral reefs and beach dunes. Their grazing increases productivity and content of the grass, some turtle species help remove sponges and promote coral growth and they also improve beaches that they nest on by providing a concentrated source of high-quality nutrients.
Not only are turtles a source of food for some predatory species, for other species of fish and shrimp, turtles provide algae, barnacles and other organisms that they carry around. Turtles are very important for this whole process of nutrient cycling.
Turtles live in the sea but they nest on land. They lay their eggs on the beach dunes, protect and wait for them to hatch. The hatchlings then crawl back into the sea until the whole process is repeated next season. The un-hatched eggs attract birds and provide nutrition to the plants in the area which in turn help prevent soil erosion.
If there is plastic and other waste on the beach, turtles will avoid these areas because they can get entangled in the debris. The fact that Olive Ridley turtles chose to nest on Versova beach again after 20 years indicates that the beach which turtles had thought of as unfit for two decades is now clean enough to provide a safe and natural habitat for them to procreate.
Because of the way that turtles are hunted for their meat, eggs, leather and shells and because they are vulnerable to inadvertent drowning by getting caught in fishermen’s nets, many turtle species remain on the endangered or the threatened species list. Seemingly small efforts made by regular people can make a significant and far-reaching difference not only to this but also to our beaches and oceans on the whole!
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