No Arribada in Gahirmatha, experts warn of environmental crisis
Kendrapara: Nature lovers and wildlife experts are worried that the endangered Olive Ridley turtles were unable to make their annual nesting visit to Gahirmatha Beach in Kendrapara district this year.
Gahirmatha Beach, near Bhitarkaniya National Park in this district, boasts the world’s largest known rookery, where millions of Olive Ridley turtles gather to lay eggs each year. According to Varadaraj Gaonkar, DFO of the Rajnagar Mangrove Forest Division (Wildlife), millions of these turtles arrive at Gahirmatha Beach every year to lay eggs.
Although there have been instances in the past where turtles appeared in late March, the DFO said it was never delayed that much.
Meanwhile, turtles have also arrived en masse to nest at another rookery, the Rushikulya River estuary in the state’s Ganjam district. But the officer said they haven’t been spotted at the nesting site in Gahirmatha yet.
Although turtles are likely to avoid nesting together this year like they did in 2014, they aren’t completely ruling out the possibility of them nesting together because the weather conditions and beach texture in Agarnasi are perfect for the marine animals to come together to lay eggs, the DFO said.
This is a unique natural phenomenon called “arribada,” a Spanish word that describes millions of these marine species gathering at the nesting site in Gahirmatha in Kendrapada district to lay eggs.
He further said it’s difficult to guess why they haven’t been spotted at the nesting beach yet.
However, wildlife experts believe that unrestrained trawl fishing and human interference may have compromised their privacy, causing them to flee.
They haven’t yet reached any definitive conclusions about the reason for the turtles’ disappearance.
Although studies are underway on turtle behavior, another official said the habitat patterns of these marine species remain a mystery.
Research is yet to shed more light on this.
The absence of turtles along the Gahirmatha coast could be due to several reasons.
But they added that these results are within the realm of speculation.
In 2025, over a period of five days, starting on March 5th, 606,000 turtles emerged from the seawater and dug holes on the beach to lay eggs, a phenomenon also known as “arribada” (a Spanish word).
Although turtles did not visit Gahirmatha for the last Aribada in 2014, official records show they did visit in 2008, 2002, 1998, 1997, 1988, and 1982.
Only female turtles come to the nesting sites to lay eggs, usually at midnight.
After laying eggs, the turtles leave the nesting site and head into deeper ocean waters.
