SECOND GOA SEA TURTLE FESTIVAL AT MORJIM ON 1ST DECEMBER
PERNEM: Morjim Sea Turtle Trust in collaboration with the Goa Forest Department will hold its “Second Goa Sea Turtle Festival” atMorjim at 4:15 pm on Tuesday, 1st December.
The purpose of the festival is to create awareness about sea turtles. As part of the festival several workshops will be held. The workshops will deal with topics such as what are sea turtles and why Goa’s four beaches of Morjim, Mandrem, Agonda and Galgibaga are important as turtle nesting sites.
Goa Sea Turtle Festival project lead Sarita Fernandes stated that the female sea turtles return to the same beach where they were born to lay eggs, 30 years later. Sea turtles are very critical of the food chain in the ocean since they eat up jelly fish. A spike in jelly fish can lead to them biting tourists and decline of tourism, Sarita stated.
The nesting season is from October to April and the hatchlings go out in May. The peak Olive Ridley nesting season is also the peak tourism season, that’s why protecting turtles is very important, she said.
In 2019, there were 12 Olive Ridleys which came to nest at Morjim, 18 at Agonda beach, 2 at Mandrem and 14 at Galgibaga. This is a big achievement for Goa Wildlife conservations, Sarita disclosed.