Lepidochelys olivacea

By Sumedha Korgaonkar, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. 248001, [email protected]

and Dr Kuppusamy Sivakumar, Ex-Scientist F, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. 248001 / Professor, Ecology and Environmental Science, Pondicherry Central University, Kalapet, Puducherry, India 605014

29 Jun 2022

Published on 21 March was a review of the literature and overview of the contemporary use of aquatic megafauna (cetaceans, sirenians, chelonians, and crocodylians) in the global tropics and subtropics, for 37 species listed on the Appendices of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).

22 Mar 2022

On 29 November 2021, the first ever Meeting of the North-Western Indian Ocean held independently of a Meeting of Signatory States (MOS) convened online. Thirty participants joined the meeting, including delegates from six Signatory States (Bahrain, Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) and two non-Signatory Range States (Kuwait and Qatar).

30 Nov 2021

The Atmosphere and Cyclones Laboratory and Kelonia have equipped 11 juvenile sea turtles (8 Loggerhead Turtles and 3 Olive Ridley Turtles) with Argos tags equipped with additional sensors. These juveniles had been taken in at the Kelonia Care Centre after being accidentally caught by longline fishermen in Reunion Island waters.

09 Feb 2021

A short film titled "You, come home when I am big" depicting the hazardous first moments in the lives of turtle hatchlings has been produced to coincide with the CMS COP13. The film was made by Ajit Samal who is a celebrated fine art painter has been making wildilfe films and documentaries for over 20 years. Based at Gujarat, he has contributed many productions concerning the conservation of species including the White-backed Vulture, the Asiatic Lion, the Asiatic Wild Ass, the Sarus Crane, Olive Ridley Turtles and the Whale Shark, as well as the Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary and Ramsar site and hte vuklture poisoning crisis.

18 Feb 2020

At the 13th Conference of the Parties (COP13) held last year in Dubai, Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands passed a resolution titled: The enhanced conservation of coastal marine turtle habitats and the designation of key areas as Ramsar Sites. Five out of seven species of marine turtles are endangered, three of them being critically endangered, according to the endangered species list of the IUCN. One of the main threats to the animals is the degradation of the nesting habitats on the coast, where female turtles lay their eggs and where turtle hatchlings start their lifetime journeys.

28 Jan 2019

The 2nd meeting of the Northern Indian Ocean Marine Turtle Task Force (NIO-MTTF) established by the CMS IOSEA Marine Turtle MOU took place 29-30 January hosted by the Department of Wildlife Conservation, Sri Lanka in Colombo. Opened by Secretary Douglas Nanayakkara of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Wildlife, the meeting’s main aim was to reach agreement on concerted regional actions to conserve marine turtles.

30 Jan 2018

Individuals and organizations engaged in marine turtle conservation work outside of the United States and its territories again have the opportunity to apply for a grant from the Marine Turtle Conservation Fund (MTCF).

04 Jan 2018

The 7th Meeting of the Task Force took place on 2 November 2017 in Dar es Salaam, as a Special Session of the WIOMSA Scientific Symposium. The morning session was an open session to share information on current sea turtle research, conservation and management initiatives in the WIO region. In the afternoon the 7th Meeting of the Western Indian Ocean Marine Turtle Task Force (WIO MTTF) was held. Members from Comoros, Kenya, France, South Africa and Tanzania, as well as the Secretariat of the IOSEA MOU, attended.

09 Nov 2017
Description: 

The olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) is considered the most abundant sea turtle in the world, with an estimated 800,000 nesting females annually. Adults are relatively small, weighing on average around 45 kg. As with other species, their size and morphology varies from region to region. The olive ridley is omnivorous, feeding on algae, lobsters, crabs, tunicates, mollusks, shrimp, and fish.

The olive ridley is globally distributed in the tropical regions of the South Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. It is mainly a pelagic species, but it has been known to inhabit coastal areas, including bays and estuaries; where they can dive to depths of about 150 m to forage on benthic invertebrates. Olive ridleys often migrate great distances between feeding and breeding grounds. They mostly breed annually, involving an annual migration from pelagic foraging, to coastal breeding and nesting grounds, back to pelagic foraging. Olive ridleys reach sexual maturity in around 15 years, a young age compared to some other sea turtle species. Many females nest every year, once or twice a season, laying clutches of approximately 100 eggs.

In certain places, the olive ridley has one of the most extraordinary nesting habits in the natural world. Large groups of turtles gather off shore of nesting beaches. Then, all at once, vast numbers of turtles come ashore and nest in what is known as an "arribada". During these arribadas, hundreds to thousands of females come ashore to lay their eggs. In the northern Indian Ocean, arribadas occur on three different beaches along the coast of Orissa, India. Gahirmatha used to be one of the largest arribada nesting sites in the world. However, arribada nesting events have been less frequent there in recent years and the average size of nesting females has been smaller, indicative of a declining population. Declines in solitary nesting of olive ridleys have been recorded in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Pakistan. In particular, the number of nests in Terengganu, Malaysia has declined from thousands of nests to just a few dozen per year. Solitary nesting also occurs extensively throughout this species' range.

Despite the enormous numbers of olive ridleys that nest in Orissa, India, this species is not generally common throughout much of the Indian Ocean. Its pelagic habits make it especially subject to interactions with modern fisheries, such as longlines. Coastal trawl and net fisheries are also important sources of incidental catch and mortality.

The preceding biological information on marine turtle species found around the Indian Ocean is derived partly from the NOAA Fisheries, Office of Protected Resources, website:(http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/), supplemented by other sources (such as a website of the Australian Government, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts -- for information on the Flatback turtle), and additional information supplied by Dr. Jack Frazier (IOSEA Advisory Committee Chair). 

 

Assessment information
CMS InstrumentsCMS, IOSEA Marine Turtles, Atlantic Turtles
IUCN StatusVulnerable
Date of entry in Appendix I1985
Date of entry in Appendix II1979
Geographic range
Countries Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Costa Rica, Cuba, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa), Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, France, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Liberia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen
Common names
EnglishRidley Turtle, Olive Ridley Turtle
FrenchTortue Batarde
SpanishTortuga olivácea
GermanBastardschildkröte
Taxonomy
ClassReptilia
OrderTestudinata
FamilyCheloniidae
Scientific name Lepidochelys olivacea
Author(Eschscholtz, 1829)
Standard referenceEckert, K.L., Bjorndal, K.A., Abreu-Grobois, F.A. and Donnelly, M. (Eds) (1999). Research and management techniques for the conservation of sea turtles. IUCN/SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group Publication No.4.
Other details
Additional notesAll migratory Cheloniidae spp.

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