Illegal mining - Sea turtles faces danger

Near Jamnagar, sea turtles around Narara and Pirotan island are facing extinction thanks to illegal sand mining around the Marine National Park.

Of many species of turtles found near Jamnagar, Green Sea Turtle and Olive Ridley Sea Turtle visit Jamnagar marine national park to nest during the mating period.

Normally turtles select deserted sandy beaches for laying eggs.  Turtles leave the island and the eggs hatch themselves under the sand.  Marine National Park near Jamnagar also runs a Sea Turtle Hatchery near Porbandar that facilitate hatching of eggs. This hatchery is a great success in conservation of many marine reptiles species. In last five years, around 6,000 sea turtle eggs were conserved, around 8,000 animals were hatched and released into the sea in 2010-11.

However, earlier this week large pits were discovered near Okha, Shivrajpur, Mithapur, Dwarka, Lamba. These pits were result of illigal sand mining, as the cost of sand and construction price soars, the miners cut short to get sands from the Turtle beaches. also recently a female sea turtle was found trapped in a big pit created due to sand mining near Dwarka.

Marine National Park team has raised this issue with Jamnagar collector, to take action against the offenders.