A proposal to carry out a detailed study by satellite tagging of turtles along the Dahanu coast has been submitted by the Wildlife Conservation and Animal Welfare Association (WCAWA).
WCAWA, which jointly operates a turtle rescue and rehabilitation centre along with the Dahanu Forest Division has submitted the proposal to the Maharashtra state mangrove cell on Wednesday.
The team for the pilot project consists of a wildlife veterinarian as well as a marine biologist. Apart from carcasses, several injured turtles are also washed ashore along the coast of Mumbai, Vasai-Virar and Dahanu, explained Dr Dinesh Vinherkar, the wildlife veterinarian in the team.
It is important to study them and find out if there is a nursing ground nearby Dahanu or it is a part of the ancient migratory routes used by the hatchlings who move towards the sea after emerging from the eggs, he added.
"A lot can be understood with this detailed project. Under this project, we will have to fix a satellite telemetry device on the shell of a rescued turtle which is fit for swimming. The GPS device will help us understand the migratory movements which will give us more clarity to work for their conservation," said Vinherkar, adding, that the device which is attached to the shell is made up of fiberglass and resin and falls off after a period of two years.
Dhaval Kansara, Founder of the WCAWA, said that the enthusiasm for this study also comes from the fact that hatchlings of green sea turtles including live ones have been found on Dahanu beach in 2012, 2014, 2015 as well as 2017, clearly indicating that a nursing or a hatching ground could be nearby.
Meanwhile, a senior official from the Mangrove Cell stated that they were yet to go through the project and they will arrive at a decision soon.
