Olive Ridley turtles return to Odisha shores

Odisha’s Olive Ridley turtle posts on World Turtle Day pointed readers to one of the best-known wildlife events on India’s east coast: female sea turtles hauling themselves onto sandy beaches to lay eggs. A May 23 social video from an Odisha-based account showed turtles crawling ashore and described the state as a global center for Olive Ridley nesting. (newindianexpress.com) That framing is broadly consistent with official and conservation records that identify Odisha’s coast as home to three major nesting sites — Gahirmatha, Rushikulya and Devi. (pib.gov.in) The species involved is the Olive Ridley sea turtle, or *Lepidochelys olivacea*, one of the world’s most widespread sea turtles. NOAA Fisheries says Olive Ridleys use both solitary nesting and synchronized mass nesting, known as arribada, in which thousands of females come ashore over a short period. (newindianexpress.com) ### Why does Odisha keep coming up in Olive Ridley coverage? Odisha’s coastline hosts three major nesting grounds for the species — Gahirmatha, Rushikulya and Devi — making the state central to India’s Olive Ridley story. Conservation literature cited by the Convention on Migratory Species identifies those three Odisha sites as the state’s principal rookeries for synchronized nesting. (newindianexpress.com) The Indian Coast Guard also treats Odisha as a priority conservation zone. In a May 19, 2025 statement, India’s Press Information Bureau said the Coast Guard’s annual “Operation Olivia” is aimed at securing nesting grounds for Olive Ridleys, particularly around Gahirmatha Beach and nearby coastal areas, where more than 800,000 turtles can arrive in a year. (fisheries.noaa.gov) ### What exactly are people seeing in these videos? Female Olive Ridleys come ashore to dig nests and lay eggs in beach sand. NOAA says adult females return to land for nesting and that arribada refers to synchronized mass nesting by thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, of turtles. At Rushikulya in Odisha this year, that process was documented in March. The New Indian Express reported on March 16 that more than 10,000 Olive Ridleys crawled ashore overnight on the first day of mass nesting at the Rushikulya rookery in Ganjam district, with egg-laying reported across much of the beach stretch. (cms.int) ### Are these turtles really traveling long distances? (pib.gov.in) Olive Ridleys are found across the tropical Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans, according to NOAA Fisheries. That broad range helps explain why migration is central to how the species is described in public conservation messaging. Odisha reporting has also tied the state’s nesting season to long marine movements. (fisheries.noaa.gov) Telegraph India reported this year, citing Rushikulya Turtle Sea Protection Committee secretary Rabindranath Sahu, that large numbers of Olive Ridleys migrate from waters near Sri Lanka toward Ganjam before nesting. ### How large has Odisha’s recent nesting been? (newindianexpress.com) Rushikulya produced a record season in 2025. The Press Information Bureau said Operation Olivia helped protect more than 6.98 lakh Olive Ridley turtles nesting at the Rushikulya river mouth in February 2025, while the Coast Guard reported thousands of patrol and surveillance missions and the detention of 366 boats involved in illegal fishing. (fisheries.noaa.gov) This year’s pattern has been less uniform across Odisha’s beaches. State wildlife officials told The New Indian Express in March that the 2026 nesting season had been delayed at Rushikulya, while more recent local reporting on May 23 said Gahirmatha had not seen mass nesting this year despite its status as a major rookery. (telegraphindia.com) ### What threats do Olive Ridleys face? NOAA Fisheries lists bycatch in fishing gear, direct harvest of turtles and eggs, habitat loss, pollution and vessel strikes among the main threats to Olive Ridleys. NOAA also says the IUCN Red List has recorded a long-term global population decline of 30% to 36% over the last century. (pib.gov.in) India’s response on the Odisha coast includes seasonal enforcement. The Coast Guard says Operation Olivia runs annually from November to May, combining surface patrols, aerial surveillance and outreach to fishing communities, including promotion of Turtle Excluder Devices. ### When is the next phase to watch? Odisha wildlife officials say the nesting season on the state’s coast typically runs from February to April, though the timing of mass nesting can vary from year to year with environmental conditions. (newindianexpress.com) That means the next widely watched phase after nesting is hatching and hatchling release at protected sites and hatcheries. In Puri district, officials said on May 19 that the Brahmagiri Forest Division had released 66,451 Olive Ridley hatchlings into the sea this season after protecting nearly 75,000 eggs from 646 nests. (fisheries.noaa.gov) (ommcomnews.com) (newindianexpress.com) (pib.gov.in)