By The News Observer Desk,
Karwar: A rare Olive Ridley sea turtle was found dead on the popular Rabindranath Tagore Beach in Karwar, raising fresh concerns over marine wildlife protection along the coastal belt.
The carcass was discovered on Wednesday morning by locals near the seashore behind the Chapel Warship Museum area of Tagore Beach. Following the alert, officials from the Forest Department and Marine SPS immediately visited the spot and conducted an inspection.
Preliminary observations suggest that the turtle may have died a few days earlier. As the body was in an advanced state of decomposition, officials were unable to perform a post-mortem examination to determine the exact cause of death. Later, in the presence of authorities, the remains were buried on the beach itself.
Suspected Fishing Net Entanglement
The exact cause of death remains unknown. However, with active fishing operations in the sea, officials suspect that the turtle may have been injured or trapped in fishing nets or possibly struck by a boat.
Sea turtles are often vulnerable to threats such as entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with vessels. In this case, the inability to conduct a post-mortem has made it difficult to confirm the precise reason behind the death.
Karwar’s coastline has previously reported similar incidents involving injured or dead sea turtles. Locals and environmental observers have once again emphasized the need for stricter precautions during fishing activities and stronger marine conservation measures to protect endangered species.
Reporting by: Saikiran Babrekar
