More Awareness Leads to More Turtles Roaming Around Safely (and a Lot More Eggs!)

Conservation actions are leading to an improvement in the olive ridley turtle population in Bangladesh.

“Awareness is the key thing among the local people. We are constantly trying to build awareness among the local people and the fishers. We told them that if they kill turtles, they get fewer fish,” says Munjurul Hannan Khan, the executive director of Nature Conservation Management (NACOM).

Varying conservation efforts, including educating local people on the importance of turtles and overall greater vigilance of the species, are paying off for Bangladesh’s olive ridley turtle population, currently found on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of threatened species. This year, NACOM found 12,425 turtle eggs in various hatcheries, the highest number recorded thus far in history. This represents a 53 per cent increase when compared with the previous year. However, for this positive trend to continue, conservationists say extensive planning and further action must be a priority at the local and national levels.