175 baby turtles born on a shelf hatchery on Cox’s Bazar beach have been released into the Bay of Bengal. The children were released on Monday afternoon at Sonapara and Ramu Panchar Island beaches in Ukhia Inani in Cox’s Bazar. Then the one or two day old babies run away with the waves into the deep sea. The children were released by Nature Conservation Management (NECOM), a non-government organization with the help of the Forest Department.
Cox’s Bazar North Forest Department Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) was present during the release. Anwar Hossain Sarkar, President of Forest Co-Management Committee (CMC) and President of Cox’s Bazar Bachao Andolan Ayashur Rahman, Project Director of Nekam Shafiqur Rahman, Manager of Natural Resource Management (NRM) of Nekam Abdul Qayyum and others.
Abdul Qayyum said more than 20 Olive Ridley tortoises had laid eggs on the beach in the three months since January 15. The eggs are collected and stored on the shelf hatchery. At 60 to 90 days the eggs hatch. On Sunday morning, 120 baby turtles hatched at Inar’s Sonarpara Hatchery and 75 at Ramu’s Owl Island Hatchery. The babies were released into the sea on Monday afternoon. There are several thousand more eggs laid in multiple hatcheries on the beach shelf. In a few days, the baby will hatch from these eggs.
Shafiqur Rahman said that Nature Conservation Management supervises the process of conservation and breeding of sea turtle eggs. The company has been collecting turtle eggs from St. Martin and Cox’s Bazar beaches for several years. About 12,000 eggs have been collected in St. Martin so far. About six thousand eggs have been collected in Cox’s Bazar. After two months, the eggs hatch. The children were later released into the sea.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) said. Anwar Hossain Sarkar said, the tortoise is a nature sweeper. Turtles play a leading role in maintaining the natural balance by eating the sea debris. But innumerable mother turtles are dying in the sea. Due to the development of tourism, the gathering of extra people on the beaches of St. Martin and Cox’s Bazar, the hue and cry, the mother turtle loses its laying environment as a result of illumination. Apart from that, when mother tortoises reach the beach to lay their eggs, they are being attacked by a group of dogs and many mother tortoises are dying. Dogs also eat turtle eggs. By collecting and storing some of these eggs, the baby is hatched and the tortoise is becoming extinct by releasing the baby in the sea.
The coral island of St. Martin is being developed as a safe breeding and habitat for all marine animals, including turtles, said Mujibur Rahman, chairman of St. Martin’s Union Parishad and president of the union Awami League. He said, ‘The presence of fauna is essential to keep the earth suitable for human habitation. We should play a role in protecting nature from our respective positions.